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HKI) STATES OF AMERICA. 



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INTERNATIONAL lUFLE TROPHY, 

For Annual Competition at Long Range by the Riflemen 

of the World. 




L03^0-RA.N^aEl 




111 





hootin 





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A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE 

International Long-Eange Matches. 

COMPLETE ELCHO SHIELD SCORES. 

EflilS AIP EiOTMfUIS Qf fEl I. £. 1., lie., lt@. 



BY THE 



Rifle Editor of the '' Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun." 



NEW YORK : 
THE FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

American J^ews Company, Agents. 
r ? 1877. 



lOUI M^ 



i^v-'-^ 



Entered, according to Act of CongresSj in the year 1877, by 

The roREST and Stream Publishing Company, 

in the office of the Librtuian of Congress at "Washington. 



PREFACE. 



In the following pages we have aimed merely to tell the story of the several great 
international long-range matches, which for a half dozen years past have been events of 
interest to the peoples of two continents. We have striven to report these ** blood- 
less battles of the butts " as such things should be reported, with the most scrupu- 
lous exactness proper in matters where the smallest appreciable fraction plays an 
important part in forming a conclusion or deciding an event ; with greatest possible 
brevity and simplicity, merits which will commend it alike to the rifleman and the 
general reader; and, above all, with rigid impartiality, yielding nothing to preference 
or prejudice, national or personal. 

Avoiding any attempt at rifle didactics in recognition of the fact that experience 
and range drill are the best teachers in the fascinating study of target shooting, and 
being wary as well of falling into the cheap and showy practice of theorizing as to 
causes of failure or victory, our intent and purpose has been to keep strictly within 
the narrative form, to lay the facts and surroundings of the matches before the public 
and allow such as choose to reach the whys and wherefores of the conclusions ac- 
cording to their several inclinations. 

As an American, and as an ardent believer in the superiority of our methods and 
appliances in this branch of manly sport, it has been our pleasure to witness the 
several confirmations of that opinion in the successive victories of the American 
marksmen, and although it appears from the records that the Americans won chiefly 
because they deserved to win, the results of the contests have been to show that 
there are riflemen all over the world, or among its English-speaking inhabitants, who 
have attained a wonderful and almost equal skill in long-range rifle shooting. The 
meetmgs have brought close and gallant struggles ; and, without a suspicion of ill- 
play, team after team have met in fair, open contest, have suffered the champion's 
luck, good or bad, and cherish, we hope, only friendly recollections of the memor- 
able events. On the whole, the victorious riflemen were so nearly beaten as to 
moderate their rejoicing ; the beaten riflemen were so nearly victorious that there 
should not be a shade of shame in their disappointment. 

The chapter on the Elcho Shield records will be found valuable as the record of 
what is universally recognized as the greatest series of long-range matches. 

The Rules and Regulations of the National Rifle Association have been inserted at 
the request of many riflemen over the country as a reliable and convenient code of 
range procedure. 

The chapter on long-range shooting is intended more especially for the general 
reader, who may wish to become in a measure familiar with the manner in which 
big scores are earned. J. E. W. 

August, 1877. 



INTERNATIONAL 

LONG-RANGE RIFLE SHOOTING. 



L— IRISH-AMERICAN MATCH: CREEDMOOR, 1874. 

" Let each man grasp the arm— 
The matchless weapon that replies to war and war's alarm— 
And let him use the Eifle as the bow was used of yore, 
And score the three-feet centres at a thousand feet or more." 



The opening of International long-range shooting in America, and the opening of 
modern rifle practice here, were almost simultaneous events. When the letter of 
Major Leech suggesting the first of the series of Irish- American marches was penned, 
not a single shot had yet been fired m a long range-range match on this side the 
Atlantic. But, with the twinkling of an eye, almost from nowhere, certainly from 
no gradual growth, American rifle shooting sprang into existence, into full growth 
and into front place with a single boimd, and to-day America stands in the fore- 
most place of the rifle shooting nations of the earth. American rifles and Ameri- 
can riflemen have beaten the selected champions of Europe. The keen eyed Scots 
have found to their astonishment that American pluck and shrewdness was more than 
a match for their own careful drill and preparation. The Irish champions agam and 
again drew up their gallant little squad for vigorous assault upon the American strong- 
hold, but failing to catch the secret of the American successes, they have been 
forced on three occasions to take a second place. From the ends of the earth experts 
with the small-bore were called to take part in the contests which American riflemen 
have thrown open to the riflemen of the world, but Australia, as well as Canada, 
have found the Yankee lads too much for them. 

But our aim is to give in as concise a form as practicable the story of the 
several great matches which have been fought here and abroad between representative 
national teams, and the starting point in such a narrative must logically be the open 
letter of Major Arthur Bleonerhassett Leech. This letter appeared in the issue of 
the New York Herald for November 22, 1873, reading as follows : 

CHALLENGE to the Riflemen of America from the Rifle- 
men of Ireland, Represented by Members of the Irish 
Rifle Association. 

IMr. A. Blennerhassett Leech, founder in 1867 of the Irish Eifle Association, will 
select from its members a team which he will match against an equal number of the 
representative American rifle shots, to shoot in the United Slates, in the autumn of 
of 1874, on the following conditions : 

Taegets, Scoring, Etc. — Same as adopted by the National Rifle Association of 
Great Britain, at Wimbledon, 1873 (when the Irish eight won the International 
Match for the Elcho Shield, beating England and Scotland). 

Ranges.— 800, 900, 1,000 and 1,100 yards. 

RiFLE=». — Any, not exceeding ten pounds weight, but without telescope sights or 
hair triggers. 



Position. — Any, but no artificial rest permitted cither for the rifle or person of the 
ahooter. 

The American Team to be composed exclusively of riflemen born in the United 
States, and to shoot with rifles of American manufacture. 

The Irish Team will shoot with rifles by Rigby, of Dublio. 

As this challenge is given to decide title to the rifle championship of the world, 
Mr. Leech will require a sufficient stake to be put down, uf^t for the sake of a trifling 
pecuniary gain, but as a guarantee that the Irish Team will meet the representative 
shots of America. 

Mr. Leech desires to draw the attention of the American people to the fact that 
the laws of Great Britain forbid the formation in Ireland of rifle corps similar to those 
which exist in great numbers in England and Scotland, and that any skill acquired by 
Irishmen in rifle shooting is the result of individual exertion under difficulties arising 
from discouraging legislation. Autiiur B. Leeoh. 

Dublin, Oct., 31, 1873. 

The Irish Team-men at that time had just won for themselves the title of 
the champions of Great Britain in the successful issue of the Elcho Shield match 
at Wimbledon, near London, in the July preceding, in that match fighting 
against s«^lected '* eights" of the best long range shooters of Scotland and Eng- 
land. Irish riflemen had been successful by a very creditable score in distancing 
their compeiitors. Looking about for other worlds to conquer, the Irish riflemen 
pitched upon America, and the challenge appeared. It came from what was, by 
record, the strongest to what was de facto the then weakest shooting nation in the 
world. On this side the water what little had been done at long range served 
more to show how lamentably deficient we were. Creedmoor was the only long- 
range shooting park in the country, and here up to the receipt of the letter but two 
matches at ranges of 800 yards and over had been fought. The first of these was 
the ''Sharpshooters' Championship Match," fought during the fall meeting, seven 
shots each, at 800 and 1,000 yards. The winning sicores stood, out of a possible 56, old 
sqiare target : 



Namb. 



J. Adam 

A. J. Roux 

R. Ornand 

H. Fulton 

L L. Hepbu'D. 



8t/0 


l.OJO 




yd's. 


y'ds. 


Total 


25 


23 


48 


21 


20 


41 


26 


13 


39 


22 


15 


3T 


22 


12 


34 



Name. 



Lieut. Campbell. 

G. W Yale 

J. R. Hawley,.... 
W. Carmichael... 



800 


1,000 


y'ds. 


y'ds. 


23 


11 


51 


7 


15 


13 


20 


8 



Total 



34 
31 
28 
28 



Of tnis list Adam, Omand and Campbell were Canadians, familiar with the use of 
the match rifle, Hepburn and Yale were professional gunmakers, Roux and Car- 
michael belonged to the Twenty-second Regiment, whose members had been in the 
habit of mid-range target-shooting as a regimental sport, while Fulton and Hawley 
as ex-officers from the war of the rebellion were not unfamiliar with the handhng of 
firearms, and yet this was the best exhibit it was possible to make. On November 
15, 1873, the first match for the Remington Diamond Badge was fought, and again 
the incapacity of the American shots was shown, for out of a possible 82 the follow- 
ing scores were recorded, a Canadian again at the head, seven shots per distance : 



Namb. 


5 

y'ds. 


800 
y'ds. 


1,000 

y'ds. 


Total 


Name. 


510 
y'ds. 

17 
24 
24 
15 
24 


800 

y'ds. 


1,000 

y'ds. 


Total 


R. Omaud 


23 
23 
22 
22 
21 


25 
23 
20 
21 
23 


22 
1!) 
16 
14 
10 


70 
(-5 

5S 
57 
64 


H. A. Gildersleeve.. 
G. W. Yale 


27 

19 

2 

6 

12 


2 


11 

16 



46 


J S Conlin. 


43 


J. P. M. Richards 

L Bdcker 


L. C. Bruce 

A. V. Caulield, Jr.. . . 
H. Fulton 


37 
36 


S. I Ke logg, Jr.. . 


36 



The above is a full and unreserved exhibit of the finest long-range skill the 
country possessed at the time the Irish challenge was thrown down. Already a 
club had been formed styled the "Amateur Rifle Club." The majority of the 
members of the club, then numbering 63, had never fired a shot at long-range. All 
were then using the common sporting rifle, with the usual hunting sights ; the pistol 
stocks, wind gauges, Vernier sights, hardened and improved conical bullets, and 



heavy charges, now in general use for long-range work, being then unknown in this 
c mntry except by report. 

In accepting the challenge, the club members were fully conscious of their own 
weakness, and sought to act not for themselves, but solely as the representatives of 
the riflemen of America, to whom the challenge was addressed, their utmost hope 
"being that they would be able out of their number to develop two or three suflaciently 
skillful to constitute a part of the team, it being expected that the remainder would 
be composed of riflemen from other sections of the country, and not connected with 
the club Correspondence during the winter brought about a distinct understanding 
between Major Leech and the Amateur Rifle Club, and the following was issued 
broadcast over the country : 

The Amateur Rifle Club, New York, March 11, 1874. 

To the Rifiemen of America : 

A challenge having been extended to you by the Irish. Eight (who won the 
Elcho Shield at Wimbledon in 1873), the Amateur Rifle Club of this city have 
accepted it upon your behalf : 

The programme submitted by the Irish team has been agreed upon as follows : 

Programme of the International Rifle Match between the riflemen of the United 
States of Ameiica and the riflemen of Ireland, represented by a team to be 
chosen from ihe members of the Irish Rifle Association, to take place at Creed- 
moor, Long Island, not sooner than the I5th of September or later than the 15th 
of October, 1874, on the following terms, viz. : 

Team — Each team to consist of not more than eight or less than six men, at the 
option of the Irish, whose decision vrill be announced on their arrival at New York. 
The American team' to be composed exclusively of riflemen born in the United 
States. The Irish team to consist of men qualified to shoot in the Irish eight at 
Wimbledon. 

Rifles — Any, not exceeding ten pounds weight ; minimum pull of trigger three 
poimds. The Americans to shoot with rifles of boTia fide American manufacture. 
The Irish to shoot with rifles manufactured by Messrs. John Rigby & Co., of Dublin. 

Sights, Ammunition, Takgets and Marking — To be according to printed regula- 
tions in force at WimbL-don, 1873. [These were simllarto those of the National Rifle 
Association of America.] 

Ranges -Eio;ht hundred yards, nine hundred yards, and one thousand yards. 

Number of Shots — Fifteen at each range by each competitor. 

Previous Practice — The Irish team to be allowed the use of the range for practice 
for at least two d^ys before the match. 

Position — Any ; no artificial rest to be used either for the rifle or person of the 
shooter. 

Mr. Leech, on the part of the Irish Team, guarantees to deposit, on his arrival at 
New York, with the National Rifle Association of America, the sum of one hundred 
pounds sterling, a like sum to be deposited by the Ameiicaa team, and this sum of 
£200 to be handed over to the captain for division among the members of the 
winning team. 

Targ. ts, range, and all accessori' s for carrying out the match to devolve on the 
Americans. The Americans to cho jse a referee to act for their team. Mr. Leech 
will act in the cap:4city of referee tor the Irish team, and the two referees shall 
mutually select an umpire, to whom, in case of difference of opinion, they shall re- 
fer, and whose decision shall be final. 

The terms of the match to bs signed by Geo. W. Wingate, on behalf of the Ama- 
teur Rifle Club, and by Arthur Blennerhasset Leech on behalf of the Irish Team. 

Duplicnte copies of this programme to be exchanged, and all necessary arrange- 
ments to be completed on or before the 1st day of June, 1874. 

Should either team fail to make an appearance on the day and hour agreed upon 
for the match, the team then pres';nt may claim the championship and stakes. 

In taking this step the Amateur Rifle Club do not claim that they include 
among their members the best riflemen of America, but only assume to act as your 
representatives for the purpose of placing the matter in such a shape as to permit all, 
who prove themselves competent, to compete, irrespective of their residence or 
membership. 

Ttie targets and scoring used in the match will be in accordance with the rules 
of the National Rifle Association, viz. : Targets, six feet high by twelve wide," 
having a black bull's-eye three feet square, smTounded by the centre, six feet square, 



6 

the rest of the target constituting the outer ; bull's-eyes counting four points, centres 
three, outers two. Any sights allowed but telescopic, mRgoifying, and such as con- 
ceal the target so as to prevent the danger signal from being seen. Any ammunition 
may be used. Any position will be allowed which can be taken on level ground 
without artificial rests. The other particulars sufficiently appear in the progiamme. 

It is requested that all native-born Americans who are interested in rifle shoot- 
ing, and who desire to form part of the team which is to represent America in this 
match, will at once commence practicing for the purpose, and will, on or before the 
first day of July next, forward to the subscriber a score of fifteen consecutive shots 
made at each distance named in the programme. 

At some time during July or August, to be hereafter designated, one or more 
matches will be held at Creedmoor to shoot for places in the team. Notice of these 
will be sent to all forwarding these returns, as well as to the regular members of the 
club, and all, whether memberi? or not, will be allowed to compete at them upon 
equal terms. From the competitors making the best scores upon these occasions, 
the Executive Committee will select a certain number who will shoot against each 
other until the best shots are definitely ascertained ; and these, and these only, will 
be allowed to shoot in the team. The Amateur Club will provide the markers and 
pay all the expenses of these matches. 

The matter is one that appeals so strongly to your pride, not only as riflemen 
but as Americans, that it is to be hoped that the best shots in the country will come 
forward in this match. The gentlemen who have sent the challenge are very skillful 
riflemen (their average score in the match for the Elcho Shield being 149.37 points 
out of a possible 180. or 3.32 a shot), but there are many in America fully as expert, 
and if they can be induced to engage in the undertaking the result cannot be doubtful. 
By order of the Executive Committee. 

FRED P. FAIRBANKS, 

Secretary Amateur Rifle Cluh. 

But up to July 1st not a smgle filled up form was returned. It was not surely 
for want of the necessary publicity, for not only did the leading dailies of New 
York, but the press throughout the country and the weekly sporting press did all in 
their power to spread the invitation; but as a matter of fact the conditions of the 
match were new, and the arms specified were not in the hands of rifle shooters. Dur- 
ing the winter and early spring the Remington and Sharps gun works, in recognition 
of the fact that American rifles as well as American riflemen were to be tried in the 
coming contest, had each produced long-range rifles fulfilling the conditions, and 
possessing all the attachments and improvements required to insure accuracy at the 
longest ranges. The possession of these weapons by members of the Amateur Club 
really left them on an equality with the coming experts so far as shooting appliances 
were concerned. But the bulk of shooting among the riflemen of the country was 
either with sporting weapons at low-ranges, or for target shooting with heavy hair- 
trigger rifles. The result consequently was, that when the time came for the com- 
petitions at which the team was to be selected not a single competitor outside ot 
those regularly belonging to the club presented himself in response to the circular, 
and it became evident that the Amateur Rifle Club must rely upon its own members 
to -present America in this match. Accordingly the club issued the following cir- 
cular : 

Notice is hereby given that six competitions will be held at Creedmoor, on the fol- 
lowing days, viz : July 15, 18, 22, 29, and August 1 and 5, at 11 o'clock a. m., for 
the purpose of selecting a team to practice for the Irish- American contest, which 
competitions will be held under the following conditions: 
Open to all natives of the Unfted States. 

Rifle — Any of American manufacture, and within the rules of the club. 
Position — Any without artificial rest. 
DisTAiNOBa— 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. 

Rounds— Fifteen at 800 and 900, twenty at 1.000 yards. No sighting shots. 
The twelve making the highest aggregate scores in any four of the six competitions 
to be selected to form the team and reserve. 

Three markers will be provided, two days in each week, for the exclusive use of 
those selected as above, and each man will also be furnished with loO rounds of 
ammunition per week. Further arrangements are also being made to facilitate their 



practice, and render it as little expensive as possible. For this reason all persons 
entering these competitions will be required to pledge themselves that should they be 
successful competitors they will practice as far as possible in such places and at such 
times as may be directed by the Executive Committee, and do all in their power to 
qualify for the match. 

The members of the Club are earnestly requested to co-operate with the committee 
in their endeavors to produce a team worthy of representing America in September 
next. Our opponents, already tried and experienced marksmen, are receiving in 
numerous ways the support and encouragement of their countrymen, and it will be 
absolutely necessary for the A. R. C. to make a vigorous effort to create a similar 
interest in the forthcoming contest among pur own countrymen, if we would meet 
them f n anything like even terms. 

It will devolve upon the club to provide means for the training of the team, the 
carrying on of the match, and the proper reception of our guests, and to this end it 
is desirable that each individual member should exert himself in any way in which 
he can make his influence available, and particularly in the matter of raising funds. 

The day named for the contest is Saturday, September 26, 1874. 

By order of the Executive Committee, 

FRED P. FAIRBANKS, 

Secretary. 

The series of test matches thus outlined were somewhat interrupted by boisterous 
weather, but with a supplementary day's shooting the team and reserves were finally 
chosen and practiced with most commendable zeal and energy up to the day of the 
match. What the American riflemen were then able to do, and what a vast deal of 
ground they had yet to pull over before they could hope to cope successfully with the 
Irish ( xperts may be judged from the following exhibit of scores made, reckoning 15 
shots at each of the distances 800, 900 and 1,000 yards, making a possible total per 
man of 180 points : 



Name. 


July 
15 


July 
18 


July 
22 


Aug. 
5 


Aug. 
13 


Aug. 
26 


Aug. 
29 


Sept 
2 


Sept 
3 


Sept 
9 


Sept 
12 


Sept 
22 


Sept 
24 


Henry Fulton * 


129 
142 

132 
143 

127 
120 

126 
129 


133 
138 
130 
113 
118 
128 
125 

140 
123 
136 
112 
130 


113 

117 
127 

115 

107 

114 

97 

116 

121 


143 
119 

136 
124 
114 
116 
114 
104 
119 
129 
133 


147 
112 
138 
128 
127 
123 
128 

133 


137 
119 

135 

121 
133 
114 


141 
131 
135 

149 
131 

127 
107 

112 
131 


149 

144 

1*36 

139 
146 
145 
IvO 
121 
139 

154 


119 
150 
150 

148 

146 
135 
125 
136 
149 
135 

137 


142 
139 
137 
142 
133 
140 
141 
127 
105 
109 
130 
119 
143 


152 
143 

153 

1*2*0 
136 
142 
147 
115 
120 
145 
143 


159 
142 
156 
152 
153 
142 
125 
125 

126 


168 


G. W. Yalet 


150 


JohnBoaine ♦ 

H. A. Gildersleeve t 

L. L. Hepburn * 


158 
154 
156 


T. S. Dakin t 


158 


J. T. B. Collins t 

E. H. Sanf ord t 


156 
144 


L M. Ballardt 




F. S. Gardnert 

J, S. Conlint 

A.V. Canfleld, Jr.* 

A. Anderson t 


126 



• Remington Creedmoor rifle, t Sharps Creedmoor rifle. 

It will be noted what a marked improvement took place in the scores of the first 
six men after they had been finally determined upon as the team ; and in the scores 
of Sept. 22 and 24, each of these gentleman surpassed anything that he had formerly 
done ; but on the whole, the scores, while fair for beginners at the difficult art of 
long-range firing, were but questionable guarantees for success against the visiting 
team. On the 16th of Sept. the Irish rifle party arrived per steamship Scotia, and 
were received at the wharf by a committee of the Amateur Rifle Club, and by them 
escorted to rooms at the Windsor Hotel. Accompanying the actual shooters came 
the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Viscount Masserene and Ferrard, Alderman Manning of 
Dublin, and a number of ladies. Major Leech and his men were very hopeful of 
success, and expressed the wish that *' a good rattling breeze" might form one of 
the accompaniments of the match. On the 18th the team and friends went to 
Garden City, taking a flying glimpse of the range from the cars. On the 19th the 
Irish shooters tried their hands with American breech-loaders in the Remington 
Diamond Badge match. So confident did Major Leech and his associates feel of 
success, that they took but one regular practice upon the range before the final 



8 

match ; this was on the 24th. Already it had been determined to put but six men 
in the field, and a comparison of the scores on that day showed a result surprising 
all round. The American score surpassed that of the Irish by 12 points. At once 
the spirits of the home team rose inproportion as those of the Irish shots were 
depressed. The scores on this noteworthy rehearsal stood : 



AMF.RICAN 
TEAM. 


800 
5d8. 


900 

yds. 


1,000 

yds. 


Total 


IRISH TEAM. 


800 
yds. 


900 

yns. 


1,000 
yds. 

47 
4-} 
52 
49 
49 
4S 

291 


Total. 


Falton 


57 
54 
66 
55 
53 
5^ 

32T 


55 

50 
54 
47 
55 
62 

313 


5b 

64 
48 
64 
48 
50 


168 
158 
158 
156 
156 
154 

950 


Wilson 


54 
57 
54 
55 
57 
51 

328 


57 
65 
51 
53 
51 
5i 

319 


158 


BoiJme 


Hamilt )D 


158 
157 


Dakin 


vVaiker 


Collins 


JotlUSOD 


157 


Hepburn 


Rigbi- 


157 


Gildersleeve 


viiiuer 


161 




Total 




Total 


810 


938 









With this showing the match day arrived. It was an unfortunate one for the 
foreign team men. They went to the range handicapped by the weather ; the heat 
in the shade ran up to mid-summer figures, and out upon the parched, bare sod of 
the shooting ground it was simply torture for the Irishmen to work and toil in the 
hot work of rifle practice. No refreshing breeze swept across the range, but the hot 
sun pouring down upon the open space, and the slight exhalation far down near the 
targets told the practiced eye that the mirage would be likely to bother the riflemen 
a good deal. The targets had been arranged in groups of two ; 19 and 20 for one 
squad, and 16 and 17 for a second squad, No. 18 target being removed. This 
afforded an easy distinction in the popular eye between the Irish and American 
targets. Major Leech winning the choice took group 16 and 17, the wisdom of his 
selection being manifest at 1,000 yards, where the shade of the old cherry tree over 
his position was very refreshing to his men. 

The assignment of markers, spotters and scorers for each party to each target was 
then made. One man each was named by Major Leech and Colonel Wingate, the 
American Team Captain, to go to the butts and sit at each target and carefully see 
that the marker performed his whole duty faithfully. Others were put at the firing 
point with good glasses to see the spot struck by each bullet upon the target, and see 
that it was marked as hit, while others again acted as scorers, duplicate tickets being 
made out, and compared at the close. These admirable precautions prevented any- 
thing like a doubt of accuracy or fair dealing in all parts of the competition. Ooce 
or twice the men in the butts came out to examine a target more minutely, but the 
shots were in all cases correctly signalled, and there was no grumbling. 

Just before the firing began. Major Leech, who is an exceedingly dignified gentle- 
man, desired to present Colonel Wingate, Captain of the American Team, with a 
badge, the counterpart of which he himself wore as Captain of the Irish Team. A 
circle of men was soon formed, and Mr. Leech began the presentai ion speech, ex- 
plaming the nature of the badge and the pleasure it gave him in presontiru^ it. He 
was about to conclude, and said, "Here it is, sir," putting his hand into his pocket. 
But he ascertained that the badge was not in that pocket. The honeyed words 
flowed from his mouth thick and fast as he rummaged pocket after pocket for the 
trinket, when all at once its whereabouts occurred to him, he exclaimed, " Oh, be 
Dad, it's in Johnson's box !" The speech was finished amid roars of laughter, but the 
presentation was postponed. 

Consideiable delay occurred in beginning the firing, both teams being apparently 
desirous to wait for the other to open fire. Every one busied himself cleaning or 
discharging his rifle, so as not to have too much the air of waiting f(ir the other. At 
this time the large crowd of people gathered on the grounds had swelled to at 
least 8,000. They now gathered closely around the semi-ciicular rope which 
had been placed as a barrier to preserve the firing parties from interruption. As 



9 

the preparations to begin proceeded, the boisterous conversation gradually ceased, 
and the immense assemblage waited with bated breath for the shot which should an- 
nounce that the match was entered upon. Impatient of waiting for the Americans, 
the Irish, with characteristic pluck, began the contest. The distribution of the 
marksmen was as follows: — Captain Walker, J. Rigby and J. B. Hamilton occupied 
16 ; J. Wilson, J. K. Milner and E, Johnson, 17 ; H. Fulton, J. Bodine and L. L. 
Hepburn, 19 ; Colonel Gildersleeve, G. W. Yale and T. S Dakin, 20. 

Captain Walker was the first to send a bullet whizzing up the range. Where it 
went is a mystery to this day. Certainly it never struck the target aimed at. 
No disk responded to the murmur of satisfaction that ran toward the Ameri- 
can targets when this first Irish shot went for a blank ; and when, a moment 
later, Major Hamilton, of the Irish squad, put in a bull's-eye, the answering cheer 
from the Irish sympathizers came back. The cheering was promptly checked at the 
request of Major Leech, the crowds, after a time, restraining their natural inclination 
to shout their exultation as their favorite made a successful hit. The effort was 
great, but the people were admirably behaved from first to last, and the officers on 
the range were not once called .to active service in regulating any boisterous or riot- 
ous demonstration. Watching a target is at best but poor sport to an outsider or 
non-rifleman, but the honor at stake, and the pride of nationality kept up the atten- 
tion unflagging to the end. The shooting went steadily on, without a break or flaw. 
A machine- like precision governed the raising and lowering of the marking disks, 
and without a hint of dissatisfaction the 800 yards range closed, and the footings-up 
showed 336 for the Americans and 317 for the Irish. Lunch was then the order of 
the hour for aU, victors and vanquished alike, the crowd at large pouring away to 
the booths and refreshment stands, while the shooters, the ladies of the Irish and 
American parties, and prominent citizens assembled in a large marquee tent, where 
a fine collation had been provided. This was earnestly discussed, and too liberally, 
we fear, by one or more of the marksmen, and at its close a surprise was awaiting 
both teams in a courteous act of generosity by Major Leech, who, rising, said that 
he had resolved to afford himself the opportunity of discharging a little duty. When 
the Irish Team came to this country they naturally expected that they would be re- 
ceived with courtesy and kind attention, but he would say that if they had had the 
one-twentieth part of the hospitality extended to them, it would have been far in 
excess of what they had anticipated. On behalf of the Irish Riflemen he would say 
that they were deeply sensible and greatly impressed with the kindness and consid- 
eration shown their happy visit to America. (Applause.) The result of the match 
— while both sides were, of course, anxious to win — he held to be of complete insig- 
nificance, as weighed with the circumstances of their visit in making acquaintances 
and meeting their countrymen on this side of the Atlantic. (Applause.) 

He would like, under the circumstances, to leave his friends in America a little 
souvenir of the visit of the Irish Team, to be shot for on any terms that might be 
deemed advisable. (Here Major Leech uncovered a beautiful silver pitcher, exqui- 
sitely worked, and surmounted by a little silver tower, representative of the famous 
old towers of Ireland. The gift, which is in hammered silver, was covered on the 
sides with varied clusters of roses and shamrocks in bas-relief, and resting upon an 
ebony stand, it rose some eighteen inches. The cost of the trophy was over 100 
guinr^as.) He went on to say that it was m tde of Irish silver, and worked in Ireland. 
It was as Irish as the rifles they shot with, and as the hearts that beat in the bosoms 
of the marksmen. It was, indeed, racy of the soil. He begged the Amateur Rifle 
Club would take it, with his good will, and he would take the liberty of reading the 
inscription : " Presented for competition to the Riflemen of America by Arthur Blen- 
nerhassett Leech, Captain of the International Team of Riflemen, on the occasion of 
their visit to New York, 1874" (Cheers.) The face on it remained for themselves 
to fill up, and he would only hope that the best man would win it.- (Applause.) 



10 

Colonel Wingate returned thanks for the beautiful souvenir which had just been 
tendered. When the match was first arranged the American Team had never calcu- 
lated on anything more than a creditable display on tlieir own part, and such as 
would encourage future contests; but they were determined, even if they did not 
succeed, that Americans would not be surpassed in courtesy, hospitality and kind- 
ness. 

With reciprocal cheers for gu( sts and hosts the riflemen returned to their match 
work, and both parties set to work in dead earnest. The Americans were encour- 
aged by their former lead, and the Irishmen shot under the spur of impending defeat. 
Neither squad did so well as at the 800 j^ards range, but of the two the Irish Team 
shot best, making a total of 312 against an American aggregate of 310. This gave 
a gain of two points, and left the Americans with but seven points lead. As the open- 
ing shot of the Irish team at 800 yards had been a miss, so, again, at 900 yards, 
J. K. Milner opened his score with a bull's-eye shot on one of the American targets, 
a piece of carelessness which, as the grand total shows, cost the Irish Team the 
match. 

The 1,000 yards range yet remained, and upon this homestretch the men brought 
all their skill and science to bear. But the dinner, or the excitement, or the fatigue 
was telling on the men. Walker, on one side, and Hepburn and Dakin, on the 
other, opened their longest range record with ** goose-eggs," the last named through 
a defective bullet. The crowd of- Irish Americans behind the firing point had their 
spirits raised by the slight gain showed by their champions. The Irish riflemen 
themselves, however, did not seem so sanguine. From the very start, or at least as 
soon as it was known that they were some points behind, they seemed to shoot with 
a sullen display of grit. They consulted one with another in whispers, and went to 
and from the firing-rug without a glance or outward notice of the immense throng 
present. Large beads of perspiration stood out upon their foreheads, and at every 
instant's grace from loading or firing they dodged under the umbrellas with which 
they were provided. With the prospect of a stern chase, and to them an uncom- 
fortably hot day, they were under a load which their superior science and long expe- 
rience could not remove. The fight, however, was a desperate one. Slowly they 
stretched themselves along the ground, steadily they took aim; care and deliberation 
marked every step, and that they were doing their very best is evidenced in the tact 
that by their own admissions they had never surpassed their record in this match. 

At one point of the match the bright hue of the American sky gave way to the cold, 
gray light, resembling that with which the Irish riflemen were familiar. Taking ad- 
vantage of this, the Irish fired rapidly, and scored a bull's-eye almost every shot. The 
excellence of one team seemed to inoculate the other with the fever of luck and skill, 
and while the Americans forged ahead until, at one period in the match, they were 
fourteen points ahead, the Irishmen closed the gap, and at their finish, which occurred 
several shots before their rivals, it was actually found that they were ahead. Then 
came the critical moment of the whole day's sport. The Irishmen had done their 
work — had placed themselves upon the record beyond possibility of change, and the 
Americans had yet several shots to make. Lieutenant Fulton insisted on knowing 
the opposite score before firing his last shot, and as a consequence of his anxiety and 
worry, made a center, leaving the Irishmen one point ahead. Only the few scorers 
and counters were aware of this. In the rapidity of the closing shots the crowd hnd 
lost track of the course of things, and it was not generally known that the AmiT- 
icans were behind. Had it been so, it is not unlikely that the excitement would have 
run so high as to destroy the steadiness of the one American upon whom the national 
chances now depended. Colonel Bodine had yot one shot to go. If he missed this, 
his last effort, the Americans would lose the victory by one point. If he made a 
" bull's-eye," four would be added to their aggregate, and their opponents would be 
left three points in the rear. Knowing this, and with the blood running across his 



11 



hand from a wound received from a broken ginger-ale bottle a few moments before, 
Colonel Bcdine stretched himself carefully out, grasped his famiUar weapon with a 
firm band, and taking a long, steady aim, fired. The crowd stood— not one moved ; 
several thousand pairs of eyes fixed upon one little point, a half-mile off, looking tor 
the metal disk -vrhich indicates the opening of the trap for the marking of a shot. 

"There it is!" cried a dozen, and in a second more the white bull's-eye disc came 
slowly up, as if from a weary marker's hand, and rested plainly before the bull's-eye, 
covering its blackface from the gladdened eyes of at least half the crowd. No sooner 
had the mere edge of the disk appeared than such a shout went up as notified all 
those on the range that the match was over. No need of asking who had won — the 
sweeping American hurrah told it at once. 

Had it not been for the almost marvelously perfect score of the leading American 
shot the Americans must have been beaten ; not badly, but as well and completely 
as they were now the vanquishers. To Major Fulton, with his superb score of 171 
in the possible 180, never equaled in his history of the old target, the honors of this 
first American victory properly belongs. While his associates shot well, bad he shot 
no better they would together have been a beaten team. 

The excellence of the shooting may be judged from the following fac-similies of 
the targets, showing the exact location of each shot : 







§ 

fa 

o 













00 

JO 

I 

CO 

'^ 

^ H 
'^ W 
CO O 



<1 



o 

o 

05 





• 


warn 


e 


■::::' Jim 




• 






When the cheering had partially ceased it took Major Leech but a few moments 
to compare totals and convince himself beyond a doubt that he was, indeed, van- 
quished, but he was ready with a merry, blithesome speech, and with the two teams 
forming the central figures of a great throng, each member of the American Team 
was decorated by a special badge at the hands of Lady Masserene. Then, with 
cheers for the Irish and cheers for the home team, with an extra round for General 
Shaler, -who had filled the honorary office of umpire during the day, the story of the 
first really International rifle match passed into history. 

It now only remains to give the formal figures of the match, and to look at the 
personnel of the teams. On the Irish side, John Eigby is a prominent member. He 
is close on six feet in height, and strongly built, with a keen gray eye. He is a 
member of that famous firm of Irish gunmakers, whose saw-handled pistols were in 
pretty frequent requisition in the good old "pistols and coffee" time, and who are 
■ now making shot-guns and long-range lifles famous the world over. He shoots 
lying face downward. 

Dr. Hamilton, a staff surgeon in the British Army, looked upon as the most relia- 
ble shot of the team, certainly justified the hopes of his friends. He is a handsome 



13 

man, stan Uog six feet in his stockings, and soldier-like in carriage, about thirty 
six years old. Dr. Himilton shoots in the regular mi itary position. 

Captain Walker is another tall mm, rather hcavilf built. He holds a commission 
in the British Army, and is a jovial fellow when not u ider shooting regime. 

Joshua K. Milner, "plucky Milaer," as he las sin^e been properly named, is a 
slightly built man. Ha lies oa his back, slightly turaed to one side, the butt of the 
rifle resting in the arm-pit, while the extremity of the barrel rests on his toe. To 
bring the rear sight near the eye, it is placed upon the stock, near the heel plate. 
Mr. Milner is engaged in the W03l business, as is also Mr. James Wilson, of Bel- 
fist, a dirk haired young man of m3dium build, one of the best rifle shots in the 
North of Ireland. He uses the ordinary proae position, and throughout his forty- 
five shots did not get out of the centre square. 

Mr. E Itnund Johnson is a Du')lia jeweler, slightly built, with light eyes and fair 
hair. He has done, at times, most extraordinary work, but on the 26th inst. was in 
rather poor health. 

The team, as a whole and individually, was a typhical Irish one, representing the 
culture and standing of the best Irish society. Over coufi ience had been their weak- 
ness, showing itself in an independent style of shooting, and while every man had, no 
doubt, exerted himself personally in the match to the utmost, by lack of system he 
failed to get that more serviceable reliance which comes in knowing that all are 
pulKng together, and brings about that " shooting in a bunch," which is an unfailing 
characteristic of a strong, well-handled team. 

In the selection of the men from among the members of the Irish Rifle Associa- 
tion, Major Leech had used care and discrimination. They were good men, every 
one, and handling, as they did, the same make of rifle throughout, there was no rea- 
son why victory should not have inclined toward them, and the Americans felt 
highly the honor which had fallen to them in defeating su"! i a team. For any team 
to have beaten such a picked half-dozen of marksmen as M ijor Leech took over to 
the United State would, under any circumstances, 1 ave be3n no slight achievement, 
but for a squad of men, who may be called mere recruits with the long-range rifle, to 
have beaten them, and above all, to have beaten them when their shooting was more 
wonderful than any team-shotting that has ever been seen before, is nothing less 
than astounding. Certainly nothing of the kind was anticipated. The New York 
military and spirting journals took from the outset the most modest view of their 
countrymen's prospects in the match, and, vhile urging them to persevere in steady 
practice, pointed out, reasonably enough, *hat they could hardly expect, after a few 
months' practice, to hold their own against the famous Irish small bore shots. For 
the winners there was nothing but congratulations, and the losers certainl}'' had noth- 
ing to be a shamed of. No doubt both sides put forth all their strength, and shot ex- 
ceptionally Well under the stimulus of patriotism, but the clear atmosphere of Amer- 
ica is paticularly favorable to good scores at long ranges, and with the handicapping 
of system and firing position enjoyed by the American shots, the result in their favor 
is not so surprising, after all; but, under the circumstances, it reflects great credit upon 
the gentlemen who got the match up. 

The Nation, speaking of one phase of the match, says : * 'One of the most pleasing 
things about this match, when we consider that it was international, was that it did 
not break up in confusion and loud accusations of fraud on both sides and threats of 
violenc ) from the spectators, followed for the succeeding week by letters to the 
newspapers proving that the targets used by the two sides were not the same size ; 
that the ground was not measured fairly ; that the score was not correctly kept ; and 
that the sights of the rifles had l)een tampered with. On the contrary, the greatest 
good feeling seems to have prevailed, and the match terminated with a festive pro- 
cession to the Windsor House, from the balcony of which the Lord Mayor had the 
pleasure of addrcFsing an enthusiastic v>ublic, a large portion of which was quite as 
Irish as himself. The visit of the Lord Mayor and his party has been from the first 
an immense success. " 



13 



Of the American group, Henry 
Fulton is a surveyor by profession, 
born in New York State. He is 
twenty-eight years old, is of medium 
height, weighs about 145 pounds. 
His record proves him to be the best 
shot in the world. He served during 
the late war as Lieutenant in the 
Twenty-first New York Cavalry, and 
since then has held various posts in 
the militia service. He shoots lying 
on his back, the rifle between his 
crossed legs, his left arm behind his 
neck, holding the butt of the gun 
in his left hand, the elbow of the 
right arm resting on the ground, 
known here as the " Fulton " posi- 
tion. 

In one of his engagements during 
the war he was wounded and cap- 
tured and enjoyed (?) a four months' 
captivity in Libby Prison, when he 
was exchanged and served to the end 
of the war. He then took to the HENRY FULTON, 

plains which he crossed five times on horseback and in the stage coach, 
he has lived East. 




Since 1870 



General Thomas Spencer Dakin is 
Major-General of the Second Divi- 
sion, National Guard S. N. Y. ; is 
forty-three years old, weighs 230 
pounds. He has seen service in the 
war ; shoots in the face-downward 
position. He is a New Yorker, hav- 
ing been born in Orange County 
in 1831. In person he is a tall, strong* 
deep-chested man. At the age of 
seventeen he entered upon a mercan- 
tile career in the city of N. Y., went 
under in the panic of 1857, but came 
up again like a genuine American, and 
in 1870 withdrew from business. He 
had enjoyed no experience in rifle 
shooting prior to the establishment of 
Creedmoor range, since which he has 
fired in all sorts of matches and with ^ 
all sorts of rifles. In long-range no 
rifleman has taken greater care in all 
the details of practice, and his records 
give the most exact data on all his 
range work. 




THOMAS S. DAKIN. 



14 




JOHN BODINE. 
of value to manufacturers. He has fairly 
among this first generation of modern American rifle shooters. 



Colonel John Bodine is forty-eight 
years old. He lives in Highland, 
Ulster County, K Y., where he was 
born. He is about six feet high, well 
proportioned, and straight as an In- 
dian. He shoots in the face-down- 
ward position, taking deliberate aim, 
and tallcs but little. He has the 
finest collection of firearms, perhaps, 
of any gentleman in the State, and 
when Creedmoor opened was prob- 
ably the best posted man in America 
on matters of target practice, his ex- 
perience running back over a period 
of thirty years. His business in early 
life as a bank teller at Newburgh, on 
the Hudson, gave him opportunity to 
indulge in his love for bull's eye hit- 
ting at the time when Leavy rifles 
with fine hair sights and set triggers 
were all the fashion, and his care- 
fully trained judgment make his 
suggestions touching improvements 
in the making and loadinz of rifles 
earned the title of "OldKcliabh" 




Mr. L. L. Hepburn is forty-two 
years old, born in the "North Woods," 
New York State ; stands five feet 
nine inches high, weighs about 1Q% 
pounds, and has sandy hair and 
whiskers. He is a practical gun- 
maker, employed in the works of 
Messrs. E. Remington & Sons, II- 
ion, N. Y. The guns both he and 
Lieutenant Fulton used were made 
with his own hands. When shoot- 
ing he lies leaning on tlie right side, 
resting tlie gun over tlie left leg, with 
the stock resting under tlie arm-pit. 
He has had a very varied experience, 
his duties to the Remington Works 
requiring frequent trips to out-of- 
town ranges and sliooting grounds in 
various parts of the country. 



L. L. HEPBURN. 



15 



Mr. George Wboster Yale is fortj-- 
eight years old, short and thick-set. 
He shoots in a somewhat similar po- 
sition to that of Mr. Hepburn, and, 
like that gentleman, is a gunmaker, 
being Superintendent of the Sharps 
Eifle Company. The rifles used by 
General Dakin and Colonel Gilder- 
sleeve, as well as his own, were made 
by him, or under his supervision. 
He is the only thoroughbred "Yan- 
kee " on the team, and half a dozen 
of his drawling nasal utterances will 
convince any listener of his springing 
point. Taking his first lessons in 
manual at blacksmithing in 1845 at 
the old Eli Whitney Gun Works, New 
Haven, from that time he has been 
identified with the gun interest in 
this country as maker, tester and m- 
venter, and is as familiar with the 
old muzzle-loader as the modern 
breech-loader. During the war he 
made frequent exhibitions of the Gr. W. YALE, 

shooting qualities of the Sharps Military Rifle before examining and military boards. 




Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Alger 
Gildersleeve is a lawyer. He is 
thirty- three years old, is of medium 
height, heavily built, and, although 
a young rifleman, is a first-class one, 
cool and steady. He enlisted, dur- 
ing the late war, in the One Hun- 
dred and Fiftieth New York Regi- 
ment, was at Gettysburg, became 
Provost Marshal of the Twentieth 
Army Corps, and subsequently 
marched with Sherman to the sea. 
He has held various positions of 
honor in the National Guard of New 
York State, and as a member of regi- 
mental teams, and in general mili- 
tary shooting, has been very success- 
ful in taking prizes at Creedmoor. 
To merely recite the list of prizes 
taken by him would require more 
space than can be spared. He is the 
son of a farmer, and has a farmer- 
like directness in his manner, hitting 
Straight to the point at issue every H. A. GILDERSLEEVE. 

time. His legal studies have but added perspicuity to what was already a clear 
Ibrain and vigorous mind. He acted as one of the incorporators of the Creedmoor 
range, and has received most of his shooting experience on that ground. 





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16, 

THE SCORES. 



iRisn-AMEBioA-N Matoh — Ceeedmooe, Septembee 26, 1874. 

AMERICAN TEA.M.— COLONEL Q. W. WiNGATB, Captain. 



Lieutenant H. Fulton— Remington Rifle. 
Tarda. Score. Totals. 

800 4 4444443444444 3... 58 

900 S 4443344444444 4.. ..57 

1000 4 344*444444433 3.... 56— 171 

G. W. Yale— Sharps Rifle. 

800 3 3334434444444 4. ...55 

900 4 3444434434434 4. ...56 

lOoO 4 3343444140334 4. ...51— 162 

Colonel John Bodine— Remington Rifle. 

800 3 3 3 44344444433 4... 54 

900 3 3434443444332 3. ...51 

1000 4 3344433344244 4....53— 15S 



Colonel H. A. Gildersleeve— Sharps Rifle. 
Yards. IS^ore. Total*. 

SOO 3 4442443444334 3. ...53 

900 4 4844434333404 4. ...51 

1000 8 34 2 3443343434 4. ...51— 155 

L. L. Hepburn— Remington Rifle. 
..334442444 8 3444 3....5a 
...3 4 ;< 42433344344 2. ...50 
...0 4343 3 333348443... .46-149 
General T. S. Dakin— Sharps Rifle. 
...4 4433333434434 4.. ..53 
...3 2403433443233 4. ...45 
...0 4434430342334 0.... 41— 139 



800. 
9 0. 

1000. 

800. 

900. 

1000. 



Team aggregate 934 



IRISH TEA.M.— Major A. Blennerhasset Leech, Captain. 



Yards. 

8U0... 

9 0... 
1000... 



800. 

900. 

1000. 



800. 
901). 
1000 



John RigbT— Rigby Rifle. 

Score. Totals. 

..3 3343433433444 4... 52 
..3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 4.... 56 
.33444344444343 4.... 55— 163 
James Wilson— Rigby Rifle. 

..4 343 8 343444344 4. ...54 
..3 3 4333344433434. ..51 
.44444443344334 3. ...55— 160 
Dr. J. B. Hamilton— Rigby Rifle. 

..4 44448444444434 58 
..4 33 3 4444444304 4. ...52 
.3 4333343344334 3. ...50— 160 



Yards. 

8o0.... 

900.... 
lOUO.... 



Joshua Milner— Rigby Rifle. 

Score. 

.3 4334444444444 4. 

.0 4344443342443 3. 

.3 343434303 3 344 4. 



Totals. 
. 57 
..49 
..48-154 



FOO 

900 
1000 



Edmund Johnson— Rigby Rifle. 

....4 3423344433334 3. ...60 

2 3232444343344 4. ...49 

....4 34434443343323 .. 51-150 

Captain Philip Walker— Rigby Rifle. 

800 3434034343444 3.. ..46 

900 4 34434444434343. ..55 

1000 343440433 3 334 2. ...43-144 



Team aggregate 931 



Summary , 



800 yards. 900 yards. 1,000 yards. Total. 

/AMERICAN TEAM 326 310 29S 931 

llRISH TEAM 317 312 302 934 



It will be noted in the above that, in the number of misses recorded for the two 
teams, there was an equality. Seven on either side were made, a) d of these five 
were in opening shots, showing that the marksmen had erred in their judgment. 
Some of the other misses are not so easily explained, coming, as they did, plump be- 
tween good shots, and in General Dakin's thousand-yards score closing ap after a 
good bull's-eye with a final lope. While three of the visiting team went through 
their forty-five shots without a miss, but two of the American Team were able to do 
the same. Tlie several rifles showed themselves to be capable of the finest work, 
fully able to plant forty-five consecutive shots into the three-feet bull's-eye, provid- 
ing the rifleman was so exceptionally gifted, physically and mentally, as to make no 
error, either in holding or in judging. It is due to the Irishmen to state that the 
scores made by them in this match excelled any of their efforts for the Elcho Shield 
at the Wimbledon range, and were the best scores ever made by them in a public 
match, and the result seemed fully to justify the words of General Sbaler's report to 
the As^ociation at its next annual meeting, as follows : 

" We have established for the National Rifle Association a record so brilliant that 
the name of Creedmoor has become the synonym the world over — wherever the en- 
thusiasm for rifle practice extends— for the highest skill in marksmanship yet at- 
tained. We have borne high aloft the traditional banner of American championship, 
and reawakened everywhere on this side of the Atlantic a lively interest in perpetu- 
ating the record of our history as riflemen." 



17 

To show the progress of the battle, the ■ ' nip and tuck " of the contest, as seen by 
those who kept close tally of the progress of the event, the following record is pre- 
pared. It gives the standing of the teams at the close of each round, and for com- 
parisoQ, the highest possible total after each round, is ad led. It will be noted that 
it was a stern chase throughout for the Irish champions, and not until the thirty 
eighth round did they draw up abreast of their antagonists. 

At one time the home team were sixteen points ahead of their antagonists, while 
at the seventh shot preceding the finish the totals were equal. Had the Irish known 
this fact, how it would have refreshed their weariness, and given them new courage 
to do their very utmost and strain every nerve. They might have retrieved their 
fortunes had they known that the match was really lost and won on the last seven 
shots per man, but a fatal neglect to have somebody keep them posted, compelled 
them to keep shooting on blindly, only knowing in a general way that they were be- 
hind, while the Americans were shcoting on intelligently and with confidence. 

We consider the running record given in this way as far preferable to a mass of 
target diagrams, as giving the most vivid exhibit of the vicissitudes and fluctuatioas 
of the match. It shows just when and where the several teams either spurt or col- 
lapse ; where the smiles of victory begin to come over their prospects, and where 
the shadow of defeat overtakes them. 

THE RUNNING RECOKD. 



Distance. 



800 yards. 



90O yards. . 



ICOO yards. 



Rourid. 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8- 

9. 
10. 
11. 
1'2 
13. 
14. 
15. 

16. 

17. 

IS. 

19 

20. 

21. 

22 

23. 

■^5. 
26. 
•27. 
28. 
20. 
30. 

31. 

32. 

33. 

34. 

3i. 

36. 

37. 

38. 

39 

40. 

41. 

42. 

43. 

44. 

146. 



Highest 


Irish to- 


American 


Irish 


American 


po8r-it»ie. 


tal. 

18 


total. 


lead. 


lea.i. 


24 


20 


2 


48 


38 


41 


— 


3 


72 


60 


6i 


— 


3 


96 


79 


85 


— 


6 


120 


100 


106 





6 


144 


117 


126 


__ 


9 


168 


139 


148 


— 


9 


192 


161 


169 





8 


216 


184 


193 





9 


y40 


206 


215 





9 


264 


227 


238 





11 


288 


249 


261 


-_ 


12 


312 


272 


282 





10 


336 


295 


305 


— . 


10 


360 


317 


326 


— 


9 


384 


333 


346 


_ 


1-3 


403 


352 


366 





14 


432 


372 


388 


— 


^6 


456 


393 


407 





14 


480 


413 


427 


— 


14 


504 


436 


4£0 


— 


14 


528 


459 


470 


— 


11 


552 


482 


491 





9 


516 


504 


513 





9 


600 


527 


535 





8 


624 


546 


557 


— 


11 


643 


567 


577 


— 


10 


672 


585 


594 


— 


9 


696 


607 


615 


— 


8 


720 


629 


636 


— 


T 


744 


646 


651 





5 


768 


666 


671 


— 


5 


792 


689 


692 


— 


3 


816 


710 


713 





3 


840 


732 


733 


— 


1 


864 


753 


756 


— 


3 


8«8 


773 


777 


— 


4 


912 


794 


794 


— 


— 


936 


810 


814 


— 


4 


960 


831 


8a7 


— 


6 


984 


853 


854 


— 


1 


1,008 


871 


873 


— 


2 


1,0.32 


891 


893 


— 


2 


1,056 


912 


916 


— 


4 


1,080 


931 


934 


— 


3 



18 




THE BENNETT CUP. 

As a very agreeable after-act to the great team fight, the Bennett Cup Match 
fought • on the 3d of October, gave the riflemen, as individuals, opportunity to 
shovp- their skill, and to John Rigby fell the honors of first place, with a total of 159 
in the possible 180, though he was closely pressed by Fulton, with 158, and J. J. 
Mason, of the Canadian delegation, with 157. In this match Colonel John Bodine, 
who had earned by his brilliant finish in the recent match the soubriquet of ' ' Old 
Beliable," succeeded in verging to the very edge of perfection at 800 yards, getticg a 
total of fourteen bulls and one center. Milner, of the Irish party, succeeded in do- 
ing fully as well, but none struck the much striven-f or fifteen consecutive bull's-eyes. 

An exact fac-simile of the target of Colonel Bodine is given below : — 




Did our space, or the scheme of this publication permit, an interesting story might 
be told of the trip to and fi-o over the country by the members of the Irish Team. 
To the magnificent hunting grounds of the far West, and from Omaha to Quebec, 
and as far South as New Orleans, the members of the team party scattered them- 
selves, to find everywhere a most hospitable welcome. 

It was not until the 18th of November that the faces of the visitors were turned 
homeward, and a fine day gave opportunity for an excellent departing round of 
courtesy. 



19 

Major Leech, Captain of the Irish Rifle Team, with other members of the Irish 
party, were escorted down the Bay by the National Rifle Association and the Ama- 
teur Rifle Club. The steamer N. K. Hopkins had been placed at the disposal of the 
riflepjen by the Quarantine Commissioners, and, with a good sized party of gentle- 
men and ladies on board, the home party and guests were conveyed down the river 
to the Cunard dock. On this passage the farewell speeches were made and the fare- 
well bumpers drank. 

Colonel Church, the President of the N. R. Association, opened the speech-making 
by referring to the cordial relations which had sprung up between the two rifle asso- 
ciations by this visit from the Irish soil of some of Ireland's best sons, and in con- 
clusion proposed the health of the Irish riflemen, and called upon Major Leech, as a 
representative man, to respond. 

Major Leech, after the glasses had been emptied, spoke of his American reception 
as one far beyond his highest hopes. He and his comrades had been treated and 
feasted like kings. Visiting princes could not have been better cared for. He 
wished for another and another of the bloodless battles such as it had been their 
pleasure to participate in at Creedmoor. 

Mr. W.Waterhouse responded for the ladies of the Irish party, of whom there were 
several present. He said he would act the part of a friend, and not take the Ameri- 
cans unaware, by warning them that the Irish Team intended to win back the 
International Trophy. Several of the American riflemen thanked him for his re- 
gard, and in return gave him full notice that they too had formed the design of re. 
taining the honors of victory as long as possible. 

Other speeches by the many gentlemen present from the various professional and 
social circles of the metropolis called out pungent, witty responses from the depart 
ing friends, making the occasion one to be long remembered, but not readily chronicled. 

During the flow of talk the steamboat had reached the Cunard dock, and the Irish 
p irty, escorted by the American riflemen and others, passed on to the Russia, which was 
to convey them across the ocean. Here the final hand shaking was done, and at last 
the word was passed for all those hot contemplating a European trip to step ashore, 
and while the embarking Irish party stationed themselves on the quarter-deck of the 
Russia, their American friends crowded the Hopkins. Cheers and responsive cheers 
passed back and forth, and as the great ocean steamer backed from her dock, the 
cannon, which had been stationed on the steamboat's deck, thundered out a noisy fare- 
well. Down the Bay as far as Fort Lafayette, the dipping of flags, the racket of 
cannon, the cheers and the shaking of handkerchiefs was kept up, until the Russia, 
tputting on full speed, started on her long voyage in earnest, leaving the little tender 
o raturn to the city, both parties exhausting themselves in one graad parting shout. 

"Old Ireland" sent over her best and strongest men for a brotherly contest in 
athletic sport, in which the keen eye, steady nerve, and thorough honest capacity 
were to be the only qualifications. Nought in envy — all in honor. To be beaten in 
such a match was scarcely less noble thun to succeed. One must win, and the merest 
chance ; a flaw of wind or a ray of sunshine might give victory to either side. There 
were a force of circumstances against the visitors, nor were our American champions 
without difficulties to contend with. Rifle practice is not attended with the same 
exhiliarating change which contributes so large a share of enjoyment to ordinary 
field sports. It is mere hard work, grit, calculation, and determination to succeed 
To do well in such a trial of skill argues the possession of no common qualities ; to be 
greatly and phenomenally successful almost lifts a competitor to the heroic standard. 
A great wit once said " the next best thing to winning is losing," and the matchless 
courtesy with which the Irishmen accepted the position almost makes us envy them 
the opportunity of so splendid a retreat from such a W3ll fought field. "Whon 
America loses may Ireland win," was the honest expression of many a friend as the 
men of the Shamrock land sailed off. 




THE ELCHO SHIELD. 



ai 



THE ELCHO SHIELD COMPETITIONS. 



Two years after that memorable 2d of July, 1860, when Her Majesty drew the 
silken cord which, discharging a carefully aimed Whitworth rifle at 400 yards, brought 
up the bulls-eye flag on a most excellent carton hit, (the original slab resting with 
the flaring mark of the bullet still upon it is among the archives of the association), in 
July, 1862, the first team match for the Elcho Shield was fought. It was in that 
year that the team idea was most extensively put in practice, and but few changes 
have been made up to the present day. Among the well known Wimbledon matcl" '^. 
the University or Chancellor's Challenge Plate, the Ashburton Shield for public 
school lads, and the Lords' and Commons' match are fixtures dating back to 1862. 

Lord Elcho, who had been one of the earl est friends of the rifle movement, and 
who remains to-day one of its most ardent supporters, had been an incorporator of 
the National Rifle Association, had expressed his desire to present a trophy, but 
leaving the particulars and terms open, merely wishing it m some way to incite a 
series of international matches between England and Scotland. Lord Bury, on the 
part of England, and Capt. Horatio Boss, representing Scotland, met and ar- 
ranged the particulars, which have been most scrupulously maintained to this day, 
excepting that the giving of individual badges to the winning team at first contem- 
plated, has been given up. It is noteworthy that both Lord Bury and Captain Ross 
battled for their respective countries in the first of the Elcho Shield series. In the 
exhibition tent in that year, the drawing of the shield was on view, but Messrs. 
Watts and Cayley, the artists, calculated that two years would be required for its 
completion at the hands of the artizans. 

The work is in repousse iron, and from tip to tip stands six feet in height. The 
shield is divided hexagonally in the upper portion with royal armorial bearings at each 
side, and the crown in the compartment at its summit — Britannia occupying the chief 
— from which is suspended a medallion portrait of Her Majesty, the Queen of Eng- 
land. A border of thistles and roses bind the lower portion, while ball flowers point the 
several intersections of the interior division lines. In the lower section of the sinister 
side Queen Elizabeth viewing her troops at Tilbury is represented, and as an equally 
interesting subject Queen Victoria firing the first shot at Wimbledon upon the occa- 
sion of opening the volunteer competition. Again at the dexter side of the com- 
petition is a distant view of the battle of Bannockbum, fought in 1314, balanced 
on the sinister side by a representation of that of Flodden Field, in 1513, while at 
the foot an English and Scotch volunteer are shaking hands. The whole, while 
thoroughly artistic, has a value entirely measured by the labor and design, and not 
by the intrinsic value of the material of which it is composed, standing among the 
heaps of great, gaudy cups and brilliant pieces of plate. 

The list which we publish below of the scores made from year to year by the 
several individual contestants will show how closely the battle has waged at times, 
and how again one or another of the teams have suffered a general rout. There has 
been, nevertheless, a general improvement in men and arms, and of course in scores. 
The science of long-range shooting is gradually being worked out, while the ril!e 
makers stand ready to put into concrete form the suggestions and hints of the shoot- 
ing men. We have noted particularly the name of the. rifle used by each individual 
and here an interesting study may be made of the rise of the arms which now rank 
as the best in the world. 



From the opening of the matches to the year 1873 inclusive, tde competitions 
were shot on the old Wimbledon taiget with the 3-foot square bull's-eye, counting 
4, the 6-foot square centre, comiting 3, and the remainder of the 6xl2-f cot target, 
counting 2. 




It was this target which was employed in the first two of the series of American- 
Irish matches at Creedmoor in 1874 and at Dollymount in 1875. Comparing the 
scores made on the old target it will be seen that not only were liigher aggregates 
made, but at the several ranges totals were shown in the Creedmoor, Dollymount 
matches which leave the Elcho shield shooting far in the rear. 

18GS. 



ENGLISH TEA.M. 

800 yds. 900 jaa. 1000 yds. T'l. 

MajorHalforda 46 37 38 121 

CaptanHiat n &.... 45 36 38 119 

EarlDuciea 44 39 35 118 

Private Beasley a... 42 42 33 117 

M. Smith b 41 39 31 111 

Sergeant Kowe a... 39 37 34 110 

I-ord Bury a 39 36 14 99 

Ensign Halliday 6.. 37 22 26 95 

Totals 343 298 249 890 



SCOTCH TEAM. 

800 yds. 900 yds. 1000 yds. T'l. 

Hor.Rossft 52 41 20 113 

Private Muir b 36 35 33 104 

MajorMoird 46 37 20 103 

Lieut. E. Ross 6 .... 42 25 80 97 

Lieut. Anderson c... 37 34 20 96 

Lieut. Peterkin b... 35 30 23 88 

Masterof Lovat 6... 32 41 13 86 

Corporal Ferguson 6 10 21 6 37 

Totals 295 264 165 724 



1863. 



ENGLISH TEAM. 

800 yds. 900 yds. 1000 yds. T'l. 

Captain Hea ton a. . . 54 56 40 15') 

M. Smith o 49 55 41 145 

Lieut.-Col. Halforda 49 52 43 144 

Lord Bury a 51 50 36 137 

Lieut. Hawker a... 48 47 37 132 

Private Ashtona 47 50 30 127 

EarlDuciea 51 39 35 125 

Captain Rowland a. 37 45 40 122 

Totals 681 394 302 1032 



SCOTCH TEAM. 

800 yds. 900 yds. 1000 yds. T'L 

Capt. Hor. Ross a. . . 55 hi 41 147 

Capt. Rosa (Camb.)a 52 53 28 133 

Her. Ross a 50 50 32 132 

N. Ferguson a 52 43 32 127 

Priv. Farquharson a 47 47 28 122 

Lieutenant Ross a.. 45 43 28 116 

Master of Lovat a.. 46 37 83 116 

Lord Elcho a 42 33 26 106 

Totals 3S9 862 248 999 



1864. 



Her. Fossa ^2 

Private Wiikens a... 48 
Capt. Ko-iH (Camb.)a 44 
Lieut. Peterkln a,. . . 45 

Karl A^>er<leen o 40 

Private Forbes o.... 46 

Hor. Ro"8a 40 

Capt. Maxwell a 41 

Totals 356 



SCOTCH TEAM. 

SOOyds. 900 yds. 1000 yds. T'l. 
135 
132 
131 
128 
117 
116 
114 
99 



44 


89 


49 


85 


48 


89 


40 


88 


85 


42 


87 


83 


41 


88 


86 


82 



320 



291 



9(57 



ENGLISH TEAM. 

800 yds. 900 yds. 1000 yds. T'l. 

Lleut.-Col. Baker a . 47 4* 60 141 

M.Smitha 52 45 89 136 

Lieut. Hawker a.... 60 43 41 134 

Corporal Pell a 44 46 40 130 

Lieut. Bantintra.... 47 89 27 113 

Captain Heaton a... 48 19 88 105 

EarlDuciea 43 31 26 100 

LordBurya 44 15 82 91 

Totals 375 282 293 950 



NoTK.— Rifles used 
aa, Ht-pplestoue. 



a, Whitworth ; b, Uuury ; e, Crockert ; d, Rigby ; «, MeCford ; /, Ingram ; 



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1877. 



IRISH TEAM. 

800 Tds. 900 vds. 1,000 yds. 

J. K. Milner d...'68 71 63 

Lieut. Fenton d.70 66 65 

L. F. Banks d.. .70 64 66 

Major Young e.. 68 65 66 

J. Rigbyd 72 63 63 

W. Rigbvd 68 64 61 

E.Johnson d 62 67 59 

H. Dyas d 65 57 65 

Grand total... 5 43 517 



T'l 

202 
201 
200 
199 
198 
193 
188 
187 



E^GLISH TEAM. 



800 vd«. 900 yds. 

Lt.-Col. Fenton e .69 61 

SirH. Halford e..69 f4 

Lieut. Toller e ...69 61 

A. P. Hunupbry e.66 63 

Lt.-Cl.Waironde.66 58 

J. Pigott e 65 62 

Maj T Scrivenc..58 .'ss 

M. Smith e .51 56 

478 



1,000 vds. 
69 
63 
63 
63 
62 
50 
52 
51 



T'l. 

199 
196 
193 
192 
186 
177 
163 
153 



508 1,668 Gr^nd total. 

SCOTCH TE.\M. 

900 yds. 
60 
63 



...513 



800 yds. 

Sergt. McTsaac / 71 

Lieut. Mitchell & 64 

Sergr. Fers^uson d 67 69 

M. Boyd /. 63 60 

Edward Rosa e 68 63 

R. Luke/. 64 52 

Lieut. John t VI b 64 57 

Capt. Thorburne 69 66 

Grand total 530 470 



1,000 yds. 
65 
57 
58 
56 
58 
58 
53 
34 

439 



473 1,464 



Total. 

196 
184 
184 
179 
179 
174 
174 
169 



1,439 



With the match of 1814 the new circular bull's-eye targets were first used in the 
Elcho Shield matches. In this target the exterior size of slab remained as before, 
6x12 feet, but the bull's-eye was made 3 feet in diameter, counting 5 ; the centre 
was another circle, 54 inches in diameter, scoring 4 ; the inner was 6x6 feet square, 
counting 3, and the outer as before. 




This target is now the standard for long range the world over. It was used in the 
Irish-American match of 1876, in the first of the series for the Centennial trophy, 
and will be used in the match of 1877, between Great Britain and America. It 
makes the range highest possibles in 15 shots 75, and the total 225 for the three 
matches, in place of 180, as by the old target. 

The merits of the new target are, that it gives opportunity for a finer discrimina- 
tion between marksmen, and tends accordingly to the prevention of long lists of tie 
scores; besides, it is more just to have circular than square sub-divisions, otherwise a 
corner shot ranking equal in recorded merit with a more central hit gives an undue 
advantage to a scattering marksman. The cbange was most carefully considered by 
the C'ouncil of the National Rifle Association of Great Britain before it was ordered, 
and from the general satisfaction the target, as at present sub-divided, gives to long- 
range liflemen the world over, it is not likely that any further alteration will soon 
be ordered. In many of the crack matches the outers might safely be dispensed 
with, since they are but rarely visited by the bullets of team men, the main danger 
being a skip over or a slip under the target through an error of elevation. Comparing 
the figures of the past few years of the Elcho Shield shooting with what has been 
shown in matches at Creedmoor and other American ranges, the showing of high 
figures will be very heavily on the side of the Americans. To reach 200 points out 
of the 225 was an exceptional performance to the men shooting across the Wimble- 
don Glen, while scores among the two hundred and teens have been shown on almost 
every long range ground in the United States. Without a record or precedent, or 
anything traditional to hold them back, the American shooters have had only per- 
fection before them, and have measured their doings by that standard alone. 




THE AMERICAN CUP. 

Presented to the Piflemen of Ireland by the American 

Team of 187B. 



29 



II.— THE IRISH-AMERICAN M ATCH — DOLLYMOUNT^ 

187S. 



"Ye strivo in friendship ; if you win, you'll meet 
No heartier cheering than from those you beat. 
And if your brothers win, you wont despair? 
You still have left a younger brother's share. 
Ireland m either case is doubly blest- 
She wins the most in losing to her guest."* 

To tell the story of the part taken by the American Team in the Irish- American 
Match of 1875 is to recite a ''traveler's tale." It was believed by many that the 
match of 1874 had favored the Americans in a great measure, because it was fought 
on their own range, under conditions of weather, light, atmosphere, etc., with which 
they were familiar, and it was thought that the question of superiority could not be 
properly determined until the American riflemen had mjt the Irish champions on 
their own ground. It was this feeling, along with the conviction which the worthy 
Major has always made a cardinal feature of his rifle faith, that an Irish rifleman is 
as good a shot as any other, and a little better, too, which led him at once, upon the 
conclusion of the match, to issue the following letter : — 

To the Editors of tJie Herald : — 

It was to the New York Herald that I addressed my letter in the month of Octo- 
ber, 1873, when 1 had the pleasure of proposing an International Rifle Match be- 
twe n America and Ireland, and at a time when the Irish were champions of Great 
Britain. 

The match which ended yesterday could have just been reversed by one point if 
one of my friends could have received the advantage of scoring four for a bull's-eye 
on the wrong target, which by the rules of the match was scored a miss. 

In addressing you now, I ask you to be so good as to permit me to say through 
your widely circulated journal, not alone on my own behalf, but on behalf of the 
members of the team and the gentlemen who came along with me as my assistants 
and men in waiting, and our lady friends who accompanied us to America, our 
thanks for the lavish kindness and hospitality which have been extended to us since 
our arrival in New York. 

My duty toward our party, and the careful attention to the health of the team , 
have obliged us to be more observers of than participators in the festivities arranged 
for our gratification ; but we are deeply sensible of and greatly impressed by the 
cordiality and friendship exhibited. 

We came out here to shoot this match, and none other, with the Americans. We 
desired to pay the entire compliment to this nation, where so many of our country- 
men have found a home, nor are we unmindful that when distress and famine visited 
our beloved country, America was prominent with its relief. 

General Shaler was named by Colonel Win^ate as final umpire, to decide any dif- 
ference of opinion between him and me ; but it did not surprise me to find that the 
worthy General's oflSee was a sinecure. All the arrangements were of the most per- 
fect and satisfactory character, and the American Team won with the most brilliant 
score ever recorded in an international match. 

I cannot conclude this letter without noticing the orderly conduct of the multitude 
of people present at Creedmoor— a multitude composed in great part of our own 
countrymen— and when I tell you it was simply at the request of my friend. Colonel 
Wingate, and myself, that all demonstraf ion during the match on the part< f the visit- 
ceased, you will agree with me, I trust, that the spectators proved themselves 
supporters of law and order and lovers of fair play. The final cheer given to the 
victors proved how we all admired the pluck and staying power of both teams. 

To the American press I tender my thanks for the scrupulous accuracy of its re- 
ports of our proceedings, and for its leniency to myself. 

Finally, I have once more, on the part of the Irish Riflemen, to throw down the 



From address to American Team, Gaiety Theater, Dublin, June 18, 1875, 



30 



gauntlet to one more peaceful battle with the American Riflemen on the same terms 
upon which the match was shot at Creedmoor, the return match to be shot in DubUn 
in the month of June, 1875, the team to consist of not more than eight nor less than 
six men, at tlie option of the Americans. 
I have the honor to remain, sir, your faithful and obliged, 

ARTHUR B. LEECH, 
Captain Irish International Rifle Team. 

Windsor Hotel, New York, Sept. 27, 1874. 




THE TEAM CAPTAINS— MAJOR LEECH AND COLONEL WINGATE. 

Everybody looked for an immediate response to this direct challenge, and it v^as 

not for several days that the President of the Amateur Rifle Club sent the following 

acceptance : 

No. 194 Broadway, New York,) 
October 2, 1874. i 

Major A. BtENERnASSET Leech : 

My Dear Sir— I have much pleasure in informing you that the necessary arrange- 
ments (which alone have caused the apparent delay) having been completed, i am 



31 

directed by the Amateur Rifle Club, on behalf of themselves and the riflemen of 
America, so far as they are authorized to speak for the latter, to accept your chal- 
lenge to shoot a rifle match in Dublin, during the summer of 1875, the date to be 
agreed upon on or before May 1, 1875, upon the same conditions as the recent match. 

I feel confident that this match will be marked by the same fairness and friendly 
feeling that have characterized our late contest, and will initiate a system of inter- 
national rifle competition which will do much to unite the two countries and to de- 
velop the manly sport of rifle shooting. 

In conclusion, I can only hope that if you should win the match, that our team 
will endeavor to bear their defeat with the same magnanimous spirit that has been 
displayed by yourself and your friends. 

Very truly yours, 

GEO. W. WINGATE, 

President Amateur Rifle Club. 

All was now talk and preparation for the trip. The Amsricans felt encouraged by 
their success at Creedmoor, but so narrowly had it been won, and from such a small 
circle of marksmen was the selection for 1875 possible, that the Amateur Club felt 
that they had assumed a big task, and in laying their plans for the campaign of 1875, 
the Executive Committee of the Club proposed that the management of the match 
should be in the hands of a joint committee chosen from the Club and from the Na- 
tional Rifle Association. This was agreed to by the latter body, and on the Isc of 
February the following address was issued : 

New Yoek, February 1, 1875. 
To the Public: 

In November, 1873, the "IdshTeam," whose success in winning the celebrated 
Elcho Shield at Wimbledon had constituted them the champions of Great Britain, 
published a challenge to American riflemen to shoot a match with American rifles 
against their celebrated Rigby's, at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. Although the extreme 
distances, and the rules as to weapons and position were new to American marks- 
men, the Amateur Rifle Club, of this city, boldly accepted the challenge. Not only 
were they almost wholly inexperienced, but no rifles were then made in America 
which could compete, under the terms of the match, with those used by the Irish 
Tt-am. During the brief period, however, which elapsed before the match, our man- 
ufacturers succeeded in providing them with the necessary weapons, and they had 
acquired such skill in their use that when the contes' took place at Creedmoor on 
September 26, 1874, the team selected from their number as the representatives of 
America were victorious by a score previously unparalleled. On the announcement of 
the result, another challenge was published on behalf of the Irish riflemen, to shoot 
a return match in Dublin next June. The expenses of the previous match, which 
were heavy, had been borne almost entirely by the members of the Amateur Rifle 
Club, who were comparatively few in number, and they naturally hesitated before as- 
suming the responsibility of undertaking to send a team of riflemen across the Atlan- 
tic. Relying, however, upon the representations of the press and their friends that 
the honor of the country required that the challenge should not be rejected, and that 
they could unhesitatingly depend upon the public for the "sinews of war " required 
to enable the representatives of America to make a proper appearance abroad, the 
Club accepted the proffered challenge, not on their own behalf, but as the represent- 
atives of American riflemen. The time having now come when the assistance thus 
promised is needed, the Committee having the matter in charge, representing not 
only the Amateur Rifle Club, but the National Rifle Association, desire to call the 
attention of the public to the matter. The expenses of the preliminary practice by 
the team, in the matches in whicn they shall be selected (in whicii matches marks- 
men from all sections of the country are expected to compete), and their outfit, pas- 
sage, and expenses while in Europe, have all to be provided for, as they cannot be 
expected to be met by the contestants. The amount required is estimated at not 
less than $6,000, and unless this amount is insured it will be impossible for the match 
to proceed. With that amount the affair may be a success which will redound cred- 
itably to the reputation of the country. The Committee, trusting that the matter 
will be looked upon by all as a national affair, which must not be allowed to fail, 
would respectfully request that all who may feel inclined to aid in the project will 
for^vard their subscriptions to General M. T. McMahon, No. 99 Nassau street, New 
York, (Treasurer of the Joint Committee of the National Rifle Association and the 



'■( 



33 

Amateur Rifle Club having tbe matter in charge), by whom the receipt will be duly 
acknowledged aad reported to the Club. 

Very respectfully yours, 

JOHN B. WOODWARl), GEORGE W. WINGATE, 

DAVID W. JUDD, HENRiT A. GILDERSLEEVE, 

JAMES GORDON BENNETT, HENRY FULTON, 

MARTIN T. McMAHON, A. ALVOMD. 

E. L. MOLINEUX. L. C. BRUCE, 

ALEXANDER SHALER, J. T. B. COLLINS, 

Com, Nat. Rifle Association. ^- P- FAIRBANKS, 

G. S. SCHERMERHORN. Jr., 

Ex. Com. of Am. RifieClub. 

Popular feeling was aroused, and the subscriptions came in to a sufficient amount 
to fully meet the expenses of the team of ten men which it was determined to send 
out as the representatives of American shouting skill, Mr. A. T. Stewart giving the 
sum of $1,000. The selection of the team was a difficult and delicate task, and after 
much talk the Committee determined upon the following : 

Offices of the 
National Rifle Association and Amatetib Rifle Ot.itb, 
No. 93 Nassau Stkeet, New Yoek, April 14, 1875. 

To tJie Biflemen of America : 

A challenge having been extended to you by Major Leech, on behalf of the rifle- 
men of Ireland, to shoot a return match in Dublin, on June 29, 1875, the Amateur 
Eifle Ciub of this city have accepted it on your behalf. 

The following programme has been agreed upon, as being substantially that of the 
last International match : 

PEOGEAMME. 

Programme of the International Rifle Match between the riflemen of the United 
States and the riflemen of Ireland, represented by a team to be cho<en from the mem- 
bers of the Irish Rifle Association, to take place in Ireland on the 29th of June, 1875, 
on the following terms, viz.: 

Team— Each team to consist of not more than eight or less than six men, at the 
option of the Americans, whose decision will be announced on the day next preced- 
ing the match. The American Team to be composed exclusively of riflemen born 
in the United States. The Irish Team to consist of men qu dified to shoot in the 
Irish eight at Wimbledon. 

Rifles— Any not exceeding ten pounds weight, minimum pull of trigger three 
■ pounds. The Americans to shoot with rifles oi bona fide American manufacture. 
The irlsh to shoot with rifles of bona fide Irish manufacture. 

Sights, Ammunition, Taegets and Marking to be according to printed regula- 
tions in force as Wimbledon, 1873. 

Ranges— Eight hundred yards, nine hundred yards and one thousand yards. 

NuMBEE OF Shots— Fifteen at each range by each competitor. 

Peevious Peaotioe— The American Team to be allowed the use of the range for 
praciice at least two days before the match. 

Position — Any ; no artificial rest to be used, either for the rifle or the person of 
the shooter. Targets, range, and all accessories for carrying out the match to de- 
volve on the Irish. The Americans and Irish to choose a referee to act for their 
teams, and the respective referees shall mutually select an umpire to whom, in case 
of dilference of opinion, they shall refer, and whose decision shall be final. 

The terms of tbe match to be signed by the President of the Amateur Rifle Club, 
on behalf of the riflemen of America, trnd by Arthur Blennerhasset Leech, on behalf 
of .the Irish Team. 

Duplicate copies of this programme to be exchanged and all necessary arrange- 
ments to be completed on or before the first day of June, 1875. 

Should either team fail to make an appearance on the day and hour agreed upon 
for the match, the team then present may claim the championship. 

In taking this step the Amateur Rifle Club do not claim that they include among 
their members the best riflemen of America ; but only assume to act as your n pre- 
sentatives, for the purpose of placing the matter in such shape as to permit all who 
prove themselves competent to compete, irrespective of their residence or me.uber- 
ship. 

The targets and scoring used in the match will be in accordance with the rules of 



83 

the National Rifle Association, viz. : Targets six feet high by twelve feet wide, 
having a black bull's-eye three feet square, surrounded by the "center," six feet, 
square, the rest of the target constituting the "outer;" bull'^s-eyes countino; four 
points, centeis three, outers two. Any slights allowed but telescopic magnifying, 
and such as conceal the target so as to prevent the danger siga J from being seen. 
Any ammunition may be used. Any position will be allowea which can be takt-n on 
•level ground, without artificial rests. 

The team is to consist of a captain and nine men, to be selected as follows : 

1. The standing of competitors shall be determined from four consecutive scores 
of forty-five shots each, each score made in a single day, without sighting shots, con- 
sisting of fifteen shots at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. 

2. The members of the American Team of 1 871 shall be allowed to stand upon the 
four scores made in their four last competitions at Creedmoor in 1874, ending with 
the Bennett Match, and are required to signify their election so to do in writing to 
the Secretary of this Committee on or before the 16th of April, 1875. The scores of 
those of the team of 1874 who elected to stand are as follows : 

Name. t scobe ^ T'l I Name. , score > T'l 

Henry Fulton 159 163 171 158 656 | T. S. Uakin 142 158 139 14T 586 

Juhn Bodine 156 158 158 152 624 I G.W.Yale. 142 150 162 127 581 

H. A. Gildereleeve 163 154 155 143 605 | L.L.Hepburn 133 156 149 142 530 

3. All other competitors shall be required to shoot in four competitions, to be held 
at Creedmoor, on April 24 and 28, and May 1 and 5 at 11 a. m. each day. The nine 
competitors, including the members of the team of 1874, standing upon their scores, 
who show the highest aggregate in their four scores thus made, or upon which they 
stood as above provided, shall constitute the team for 1875, and be given their rank 
thereon respectively according to their scores; subject, however, to the following 
provision : That such members of the team of 1874 as do not receive a place upon the 
team ol L875, under the foregoing rules, shall be allowed to challenge an equal num- 
ber of the said team of nine as above SL^ected, commencing with the ninth man, to 
two competitions, to take place under the direction of this committee. May 8 and 10, 
and the victors in those two competitions shall be members of the team. 

4. Should any vaciacy or vacancies occur in the team, as thus selected, before the 
day of sailing, it or they shall be filled by placing therein the competitor or competi- 
tors whose score or scores are next in order of merit, as shown at the end of the four 
competitions above provided. 

5. The Captain shall be chosen by a majority vote of the nine men constituting 
the team, as soon as practicable after their selection, in accordance with the condi- 
tions herein provided. The team of 1875 shall be required to engage in such practice 
on the range as this committee may direct. 

The Amateur Rifle Club will pay all the expense of the team to Europe, and also 
the expenses of these competitions. The team will sail about June 5, 1875. 

The matter is one that appeals so strongly to your pride, not only as riflemen, but 
as Americans, that it is to be hoped that the best shots in the country will come for- 
ward in this match. The gentlemen who have sent the challenge are very skillful 
riflemen ; but there are many in America fully as expert, and if they can be induced 
to engage in the undertaking, it is hoped that the result will be as gratifying as that 
of the former International match. 

By order of the Joint Committee of Amateur Rifle Club and the National Rifle 
Association. 

LESLIE C. BRUCE, Secretary. 

Col. G. W. WINGATE, Chairman. Gen. JOHN B. WOODWARD, 

Caft. henry FULTON, Hon. DAVID W. JUGG, 

Mr. a. ALFORD, Gen. MARTIN T. MacMAHON, 

Col. JOHN BODINE. Gen. ALEXANDER SHALER, 

Sergt. W. B. COUGHTRY: Gen. KILBURN KNOX, 

Mr. GEORGE CROUCH, Col. H A. GIDERSLEEVE, 

Mr. ROBERT JOHNSTON, Capt. W. C. CA.«EY, 

MAJoii G. W. YALE, Capt. L. C. BRUCE, Secretary. 

Col. E. H. SANFORD, 

Com. of Nat, Rifle Aisociation. 
Ex. Com. of Am. Rifle Club. 

The interest in rifle shooting had been spreading, clubs were being organized here, 
there and everywhere over the country. In military shooting the National Guards- 
men of the several States were posting themselves. The National Rifle Association 



34 



had striven, with success, to popularize rifle practice, and impress upon the public 
the importance of giving more attention to the matter. The want of a reserve fund 
of riflemen from which to draw was a serious obstacle to the committee in their work 
of selection. They felt that Creedmoor should be, as they hoped to make it, the 
Wimbledon of America, with scores of minor local ranges to do the work of training 
riflemen to give to Creedmoor its national character. The gunmakers had not spent 
the winter idly, but with tireless endeavor were turning out long-range breech-loaders, 
on which the workmanship for accuracy and uniformity would equal the finest watch 
work. 

The opening of the matches for the selection of the team of 1875 witnessed the 
gathering of almost the same company on wbom the burden of the previous match 
had fallen. Capt. Roswell C. Coleman, from Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y., was a 
new-comer. He had become imbued with the rifle enthusiasm in reading the ac- 
counts of the former international match, and determined to try his hand at the new 
sport, and accordingly bought a rifle. On coming to Creedmoor he had not yet shot 
at ranges over 900 yds., and his success in winning a place is therefore the more re- 
markable. Judging from the positions taken in shooting, there must have been con- 
siderable home study on this point during the winter to determine how 
far and how the rifleman's body can be made to give the greatest possible steadiness 
to the rifle. Fulton's success in 1874 has made his position popular, and of the 
number who shot fully four-fifths shot in some position other than the regular old- 
fashioned prone one. There were many other points noticeable to one accus- 
tomed to the work at Creedmoor, indicating that the leading riflemen who attend 
there were reducing their sport very nearly to a science, and were omitting no precau- 
tion which would assist them toward a perfect score. 

Of the original team-men, Hepburn declined going into the match for another 
year, and the competitions for selection and the practice of the team during the 
month preceding their departure were as follows : 





Apr. 
24 


Apr. 
30 
























Names. 


1 


5 


8 


10 


12 


15 


17 


19 


22 


24 


26 


Fulton 

Gildersleeve 

Dak in 


ir5 

130 
146 
120 

123 
120 
121 
122 
117 


153 
145 
146 
139 

128 
131 
116 
115 
94 


155 
152 

143 

148 
139 
116 
128 
125 


149 
146 
138 
144 

1*32 

132 
142 
118 
110 


151 

149 
157 
143 

139 
143 

156 


145 

156 
135 
143 


143 

i4'"> 

123 
137 
134 
130 
141 
137 


158 
135 
151 
146 
157 
132 
146 

li2 
116 


155 
129 
141 

144 

128 


152 
142 
149 

148 

141 
154 

136 

128 


153 
149 
123 
151 
154 
132 
125 

iifi 

117 


160 
146 
159 

156 

iis 


158 
140 
146 


Yale 


128 


Bodine 




Coleman 


135 


Canfleld 


139 


Jewell 




Bruce 


139 


Ballard 





None of the old members, it will be noted, stood upon their record of the previous 
year, excepting Bodine, who was prevented from attending. ]\[ajor H. S. Jewell 
found it impossible to go with the team, and resigned, giving Ballard a place on the 
traveling group. On May 7, Col. H. A. Gildersleeve was chosen captain, and he, 
before the sailing on June 5, selected Col. C. B. Mitchell, of the 1st Div. Staff N. G. 
S. N. Y., as the referee with the team. Mr. John H. Bird, who had been etflcient 
in the matter of fitting out the team, was also invited to accompany the ptu"ty, which, 
besides the actual shooters, included a number of ladies and gentlemen and a few 
press representatives. Alderman Cole, of the City of New York, went in an official 
capacity as the delegate from the metropolis. 

The "send-off" of the team was done up in genuine American style, with banners 
and bustle, cannon and champagne, hurrahing and steam whistles, making the lower 
bay ring with the sounds of noisy God-speeds. A delightful passage over, and the 
team are seized in the embrace of Irish hospitality, the first face noted as the good 
ship City of Chester sailed into the harbor of Queenstown being that of Major Leech 



35 

waving welcomes from the deck of the Government tender, and with many a "wel- 
come home " to these his old friends, he and his fellow receptionists began that series 
of special fetes and entertainments which well nigh drowned the visitors in an excess 
of kindness The entry into Dublin on the evening of the 15th of June was like the 
march of a successful conqueror home from battle. A triumphal entry it indeed was, 
and as the carriages were blocked upon the streets by the thousands who filled the 
thoroughfares, the ringing shouts of the populace, the profusion of bunting displayed 
from the buildings and the waving of handkerchiefs by the fair portion of the Dub- 
lia citizens, all made the Americans feel that they had indeed fallen among friends. 

It rained, of course, and pretty much all the outgoings of the visitors during the 
stay abroad was a series of dodging between the showers, but they were Irish 
showers, hardly worth raising an umbrella against, since the bright sunlight, sure to 
succeed in a few moments, would dry everything up delightfully. Thursday, June 
17th, the Americans made their first visit to the range, which is situated on the 
North Bull, a long, low sand-bank in Dublin Bay, opposite Dolly mount on the main 
shore, from which it is separated by a creek or inlet varying in depth and width ac- 
cording to the state of the tide ; crossing a long narrow foot bridge the loose, drifty 
sea sand was reached. Compared with Creedmoor the range is bleak and uninviting. 
In the rear of the targets in place of the green sodded bank of the American range 
there is opea space here, and the sea diminished by perspective to a thin gray streak, 
beyond which appear houses, of course out of range. On a fine day the view visi- 
ble from the range is strikingl}'- attractive. Bounded to the north by the distant 
dusky outlines of Lambay and Ireland's Eye, and by the broad slopes of the Hill of 
Howth, which, in clear weather appear checkered with varying tints of green and 
purple, from amid which peer masses of blue gray and brown rock. To the left 
are richly wooded uplands stretching inward from the coast, with intervals of un- 
dulating meadows, contrasting prettily with the sombre greenery of the foliage above 
them. Turning to the right the spectator obtains a splendid view of the bay and its 
southern boundary. Westward from Killiney his eye follows the dim outline of the 
Dublin and Wicklow mountains with clusters of charming residences in the middle 
distance, embossomed in a wide band of rich verdure. Right in the rear lies the 
dusk}'- city, bristling with sharp spires and tall factory chimneys, overhung by a 
murky canopy of smoke. 

The accommodations on the range are a few low heaps of sandy sod for use as 
firina: points, a small house about the size of an ordinary horse car, and somewhat 
respmbling it, and a new semicircular fence, put up in anticipation of the match. 
There are no stools, as at Creedmoor, for riflemen and spectators, no flags for getting 
the wind, nothing but the distance and the targets, and these latter are set directly 
on the gr.'und with no parapet below. The marker is in a mantlet by the side of 
the target, and marks very slowly, and owing to the difficulty in determining the 
exact location and value of a shot is often compelled to stop the firing, hoist the 
danger fl>ig and come out to examine the target face more minutely. There are f(»ur 
targe's, and one marker coming out necessitates a stoppage all along the line. 

The ma^ch was set down for Tuesday, the 29th, and it was not till Friday, the 
25th, that the team really did take a serious practice, and found that the Dollymount 
ranire was not by any means so difficult a range as it had been reputed. It was not a 
difficult nor yet a very easy day for shooting, but the Americans managed to roll up 
a score of 950 points, beating their famous winning record at Creedmoor. The 
scores stood : 

800 

Fulton m 

Dakin 56 

GUd-rsleeve 56 

Coleman 57 

The Americans had played or seemed to be playing the same game which had 



900 


lO'iO 


Total 




800 


9(10 


1000 


•Total 


59 


55 


170 


Bodine 


... 56 


53 


47 


156 


52 


63 


161 


Yale 


... 53 


51 


42 


146 


56 


47 


159 













54 


47 


15S 


Grand Total... 








. ..950 



36 

served them so well in the former match, of running up a big score just before the 
match and thereby striking despair into the heart of their advtrsaries. The effect of 
this fine exhibition of shODting was most dispiriting on their antagonists, while the 
popular opinion, especially of the lower classes, already very strongly in favor of an 
American victory, gave vent on the return of the team in the evening in long con- 
tinued cheering before the hotel. The local Irish papers read the home team a severe 
lecture next morning, and berated the captain soundly for liis want of diligence in 
not keeping his men to work, the Freeman's Journal saying : 

"We trust that the Irish will make some effort to pull themselves together, and even 
at the eleventh hour do some work, if not, inglorious disaster will await them, and 
while no one will grudire the Americans their laurels if they win them, it will be a 
great pity if the Irish do not, at the very least, make a good fight for it.'' 

Major Leech was compelled to publish a letter with the object of allaying the fears 
of the friends of the Irish team. The morning of the match day had come and all 
were up promptly. The memorable day had come, to see which this band of Ameri- 
can citizens had crossed 3,000 miles of water, taken many weeks of time to try what 
is intrinsically of small importance — the relative competency of American and Irish 
marksmen. The dawn came out with the promise of a dull day. At the 8 o'clock 
breakfast at the hotel the riflemen, each dressed in the snug-fitting blue flannel uni- 
form of the Amateur Rifle Club of New York, looked anxiously out at the heavens. At 
that hour a dull, leaden sky, withoufa rif t of sunshine, and a gentle breeze scarcely 
moving the foliage in St. Stephen's Green before the door, gave promise of a most 
favorable day for their chosen sport. Wishes were expressed that the day might 
remain thus, that something noteworthy might be put upon record. All the men 
were in prime condition, excepting General Dakin, whose arm had been somew^hat 
bruised by excessive and constrained practice the previous day. 

At 9:30 o'clock the carriages were at the door to convey the team and associates to 
the range. The rifles, carefully handled, the cartriflge cases, the telescopes and 
waterproof and the great load of baggage incident to a day on the range were heaped 
in, and a few moments later the start was made for the Dollymount range. Along 
the route the interest of the people in the match and the visitors was seen in the 
legends and banners stretched across the road. At one point a band of green leaves 
made a very pretty archway, and "Welcome to the Emerald Isle," "Welcome to 
Clontarf Plains," and similar expressions were common. At 10:25 the carriages 
drew up on the range after a rattling ride along the sea-wall road and across the low 
water ford directly to the firing point. The range had been considerably altered in 
preparation for this event. Stout wooden fences had been erected, while within this 
a wooden paling divided off a reserved space, in which the ladies and specially in- 
vited guests were seated. Tents had been erected here and there, and provisions in 
plenty had been provided for, spacious marquees for shade and rest being disposed 
at various points within the inclosure. A good force of police, a little more showy 
and even more inefl5ri( nt than their New York counterparts, lounged lazily over 
the grounds. The Irish riflemen were about, and at 11:25 the apportionment of the 
men to the several targets for markers, spotters, scorers, etc., had been made, ^lajor 
Arthur, Major Holland, Mr. William B. Coughtry and Mr. H. B. Kerr, of the 
American party, took the duty of going down in the butts to supervise the markers. 
Captain Bruce and A. V. Canfield, Jr., kept an accurate watch on the American tar- 
gets, recording each shot on miniature targets ; while L. M. Ballard and J. E. Whit- 
ley, of the American party, kept the check scores on the Irish targets. Mr. J. FI. 
Bird and Captain Bogardus acted as patrols in the rear to keep back the crowd and 
look out for the interests of the men ; while Colonel Mitchell was looking sliarply 
about, seeing that everything was set to rights. The referee on the Irish side was 
Major Leech, while Captain II. Haldane, 93d Highlanders, Deputy Adjutant General 
for muskfe'try, held the post of umpire. 



87 

The crowd rapidly increased in numbers, many ladies coming down to watch the 
champions at work. The facilities for conveying the news of the match during its 
progress to the crowds in attendance was very good. Immense blackboards were 
mounted on gigantic easels lifted above the heads of the throng, and on these 
the figures were given in detail, while on a large target the exact positions of 
the shots were spotted out. As each man fired his record was transferred 
to these large diagrams, and all who wished took note. In the toss for choice 
of targets the home team won, and chose the up-hill targets toward the right 
of the range. Six targets were m position, the four inside ones being in use — 
2 and 3 for the American team and 4 and 5 for their Irish friends. To target 2 the 
assignments were Gildersleeve, Bodine and Fulton; on target 3, Yale, Dakin and 
Coleman : target 4, Wilson, McKenna and Johnson, and on the extreme right Dr. 
Hamilton, Milnerand Pollock shot on target 5. At 11:35, when the bugle sounded 
the signal for the opening, there were but few on the ground. The sky still held its 
dull leaden covering, though the wind had freshened up to a good lively breeze and 
was blowing steadily up the range — what would be styled in marksmen's parlance a 
12 o'clock wind. After a deal of fusilading and banging away with blank cartridges 
into the ground, a habit much indulged in by the Irish riflemen to fit the weapon for 
immediate loading, the match was opened by Dr. Hamilton, who led off on target 5, 
and gained a centre. Colonel Gildersleeve followed with another centre ; Yaie on 
his target getting an outer, while Wilson began the campaign on target 4 with 
another centre. This was not very auspicious in any direction, but it was an import- 
ant point gained to have the first rifleman find the target, that the conditions of wind 
and elevation used by him could be communicated to his fellows to guide them in 
the arrangement of their rifle fixtures. The 800-yard range progressed along with 
care and caution on either side. The shooting was fine all along the lines of either 
party, though for some unaccountable reason Bodine planted a ' 'duck's egg'' plump in 
the middle of his score at this range. The wind held very steadily from the 12, 
though occasionally showing a disposition to twirl about at 1 o'clock. The sky, too, 
toward the close of the practice at this range began to break up, and a day of sun- 
shine and bright skies was promised. This did not exactly suit the marksmen, who 
had been hoping for a run of several hours of overcast sky and steady wind. The 
promise of sunshine brought out the citizens in force, and by the conclusion of the 
800-yard stage the grounds were -well thronged. The conclusion of this range shoot- 
ing was eargerly watched, and when at the finish it was announced that the Irish 
team was one point ahead, the cheering was hearty. Among the riflemen themselves 
the effect of this announcement was peculiar. The Irish looked upon it as the 
beginning of a victory. The lower ranges they considered the most familiar to the 
American shooters, and this vantage, taken thus early in the struggle, the Dublin men 
hoped to keep and increase to the end of the match. The Americans took the return 
with all stolidity. Not one gave any indication of weakness or despondency. Such 
a small difference they considered did not throw them into the predicament of a 
stern chase and a long one. One point is easily lost or won, and forewarned was 
forearmed, they considered. Each man went back determined to win, so far as he 
individually was concerned, and afford every advantage to his fellows. 

The manner of working adopted by the two teams was characteristic and may 
serve to explain why the battle took the turn it did. It is fair to assume that both 
squads of men were in prime condition ; there was no complaint of illness heard, and 
no accident happened to mar the progress of the contest. . But in the American 
wing all was order and system. The sequence of firing and the movements of the 
men during action had been arranged before the day's work opened. Gildersleeve 
was to open on his target, and give the wind and elevation and such experience as 
the opening shot might afford. As each man rose from the firing-point he stepped 
up to a convenient easel and jotted down the wind and rear sight measurements 

N 



88 

u-ed by him, while the spotter inverted a broad-headed tack in a small target in 
plain sight, on the spot corresponding with that hit by the ball. For the first man 
firing a red tack was put in, for the second a white tack, and for the third a blue- 
headed tack. Each man in firing, after the first round, was able by a glance at this 
diagram to see how the shots were drifting and allow accordingly. There was no 
hurry, no running about after "points" or hints, but the whole team pulled to- 
gether in a hearty and helpful manner. On the Irish side the men wandered about, 
bantering with friends and acquaintances, running for points on wind and elevation 
to one another, and especially to Mr. John Rigby, who was not shooting, but acted 
as a sort of general father over all, trying to give advice to a half-dozen questioners 
at one and the same time. There was no system. In place of putting out the less 
reliable men as pioneer shots at each range, their best men, Hamilton and Wilson, 
led off, taking the first shots all along the score. The only reason suggested for the 
defeat of the Irish team is their want of unity and the lack of that discipline and 
mutual assistance so essential in the accomplishment of any undertaking in which 
the bad effort of one may spoil the good endeavors of another. At 800 yards all 
these points of difference were not so conspicuous. Plenty of time was taken, and 
with the whole afternoon before them the men were leisurely in their movements. 
All the men found assistance in the favorable light and steady wind, and the totals 
of 337 and 338 in the possible 360, against the totals of 317 and 326 made in the 
previous September match, show not only increased skill, but bear testimony to the 
more favorable conditions. 

There was no intermission beyond that spent in moving back the trappings and 
other paraphernalia of the firing-points from the 800 to the 900-yards stage, and the 
second part of the contest was entered upon. Then came in the fine discipline of 
the American riflemen. For the first few shots the conditions of atmosphere, light 
and wind remained pretty much the same. The sky was brightening, however, and 
by the time the eighth shot had been reached a clear, bright sun was shining ; the 
wind was blowing uneasily from the point of 4 and 5 cJ' clock, and required much and 
c&reful watching. With the check system adopted by the one squad this was easily 
done, but with the other confusion soon became the order of the hour, and of the 
ninety shots fired at 900 yards the Americans show but two misses, made by Cole, 
man as opening shots, and but two outers. On the Irish scores are three outers and 
seven misses, Milner "going to pieces" in most bewildering fashion. Mr. Rigby 
coached Milner during his embarrassment most persistently, but all to no purpose. 
In vain he emptied his gun into the ground, and loaded with all the care possible, 
setting his sights with the utmost accuracy. No encouraging thud indicated the 
striking of the iron target's face by his bullets. He struggled on, changing this way 
and that, under the advice of a half dozen counsellors, but his luck had gone. He 
had lost confidence in his gun, in himself, in his method or something, and with his 
confidence his ability to execute had gone. Along toward the middle of this stage 
the tide of luck seemed setting in most strongly toward the American side. Milner 
and McKenna each had a miss. Pollock followed with an outer, Johnson dropped 
from a bull's-eye into a couple of centres, and Wilson was not holding his own over 
well. On the American side Colonel Bodine was redeeming his ill-fortune at 800 
yards in a score of 59 in a possible 60. Fulton was doing almost as well, and 
even Coleman, after a pair of duck's eggs at opening, ran up 48 at this range. 
At 2:35 the match was two-thirds completed, and a recess was taken for lunch. 
The oflScial record soon disclosed the unpalatable truth that the stranger team had 
completely turned the tables on the home men, and in plnce of the latter being one 
ahead they were thirty-four in the rear. This was a magnificent piece of work to be 
accomplished in a single stage of the match, and a most stupendous obstacle for the 
Irish riflemen to pull over on the remaining range. 

By this time there were fully ten or twelve thousand people on the ground, a rep- 



39 

resentative Irish crowd — merry beggars and bumptious Aldermen in ulter confusion. 
The lunch tents were soon filled, and a most wholesale consumption of bever,!,ii,es of 
all kinds ensued. The promise of the morning and the experience of days and 
weeks past had been vain, and all were warmly clad against storms, but the high 
temperature had caused the perspiration to flow, the thirst to increase most suddenly. 
The invited guests, with the two rifle teams, proceeded to the private marquee ot 
the association and the Reception Committee, where a choice collation had been 
spread. All were exhausted and hungry, and ate with avidity, the American 
shooters replying between bites to the compliments poured upon them from all sides. 
The Irishmen acknowledged defeat in their looks and action, but hoped at their 
favorite range — the 1,000 yards — to at least reduce the American lead to more 
of an equality. But they ate and drank with good cheer, and covered their chagrin 
at their approaching second defeat under the most pleasant exterior. 

The opening of the 1,000-yards range firing was something of a toil. The people 
had increased immensely in numbers, and crushed forward against the riflemen at 
work, impeding their motions ; and in the absence of any effective barriers it was 
impossible to do anything really serviceable toward keeping them back. The horse- 
shoe shape, with the actors and the rifles in the inner curve, was drawn out until the 
sides became about parallel, leaving but a narrow lane along which the bullets trav- 
eled, some of the peering heads came very near the line of fire, and on one or two 
occasions the riflemen on the extreme right Irish targets were compelled to suspend 
firing until some particularly obtrusive head was drawn out of range. The noise, 
too, became greater, and each good shot was hailed with cries of "Bravo!" and 
cheers. A band which had been on the grounds during the day persisted in playing, 
to the discomfiture of the shooters, until ordered to stop. The wind had died down 
again, blowing lazily from the first and third quarters, swinging round again to the 
twelfth quarter before the close of the match, and the sky, too, had again clouded 
up, assuming the dull, gray aspect, and as the last few shots were fired the general 
look of the conditions was very similar to that existant at the opening of the match, 
except in the moderated wind. 

The day had been a test one. The wind had traveled fully half round the dial, 
and the light had changed from a dull gray to a bright sunlight and back again since 
the start in the forenoon. It was not a particularly difficult day to manage, 
especially when six or more experts sat in consultation upon it, as did the American 
shooters ; but still it required care and watching at every moment. For the general 
pubhc it was voted a capital day, since it was the first really fine Jtme day which 
had been enjoyed since the advent of the American band in Ireland, and all were 
glad to avail themselves of it to see the great event of the time hereabouts, and the 
Rifle Association reaped a most generous harvest of shillings at the admission gate. 

The 1,COO yard range trial was soon over. The men, especially on the Irish side, 
firing rapidly. On the American section Fulton went to pieces badly, getting two 
misses, and ending up with one, a piece of carelessness quite "unprofessional. General 
Dakin, who had been shooting up toward head man, also managed to get a miss at 
this score. With the exception of these three misses and six outers, some of which 
are due to the crowding in of the people, the team did very well. On the Irish side 
Hamilton and Pollock had a miss each, and Milner added three more to his champion 
list of the day's duck eggs. On a show of totals at this range alone, the Americans 
were again the victors, scoring five points more than their antagonists, which, added 
to their previous balance of thirty-four, gave thirty-nine as the majority of the 
Americans, the totals being for Americans 968, and for Irish 929 in a possible 1,080. 
The Americans surpassed their hitherto unsurpassable score of the Creedmoor shoot, 
while the Irishmen had fallen behind at 900 and 1,000 yards. The match was a full, 
square and complete defeat of the Irish team. There was at no time any real call 
on the umpire or referees for a c ec ^ion. At times the markers in the mantlets dis- 



40 

cussed very long over shots on line or edge, but beyond these interruptions, some 
twelve or fifteen in number, all went off smoothly. It was a great victory for the 
breech-loaders over the muzzle-loaders. Again tliey showed the world that they are 
equally efficient for the longest ranges and the finest work as are any of the most 
carefully built muzzle-loaders. Fulton made of his breech-loader a semi-muzzle- 
loadiug gun by the practice of charging his weapon by the muzzle, but otherwise the 
pieces were properly handled and did their work in a normal manner. 

The retm-n to the hotel at the conclusion of the match, Avhich ended within a few 
moments of 6 o'clock, was a sight rarely witnessed. Major Leech made a few remarks 
to the crowd — very few remarks — informing them of the defeat of their team, and 
proposing three cheers for the victors, which were given rather backwardly, although 
the Irish Team were persistent in expressing their happiness and entire acquiescence in 
the issue of the match. Colonel Gildersleeve responded, thanking the mob for the 
order (?) they had maintained. The band of the Fiftieth Regiment played '' Hail 
Columbia," and then came the voyage home. Five minutes after the the last shot 
was fired by Bodine — a "bull's-eye" — swelling the American majority to thirty-nine, 
the whole of the vast expanse behind the inclosure was covered with straggling lines of 
people making rapidly for the long, narrow bridge which joins the mainland. Pass- 
age across this was slow work, owing to the masses wedged within the stout 
wooden paling on each side, and many who did not fancy a long delay used 
the boats which some speculative mariners, taking advantage of the rising tide, 
offered for a consideration as a means of transit from the sandy bull to the opposite 
shore of DoUymount. Half a dozen jaunting cars, with " six up" — men and women 
— ventured to cross the water- way, and the hesitancy of the drivers to go on when 
the sea reached almost to the horses' girths provoked the mirth and ridicule of the 
onlookers ; but a bold dash, made at the cost of a heavy splashing, ]}rougbt the 
voyagers safely to land while the merrymakers were doomed to a long and toilsome 
journey. The American Team traveled homewards, some in an open carriage, 
others on cars immediately following, and at various points the victorious riflemen 
were warmly greeted. 

At Drogheda railway terminus, at the base of Nelson's Monument, consider- 
able crowds collected to get a glimpse of the American Team and applaud them, 
and this they did right heartily as the strangers, with their rifles, leather-cased and 
buckled, held in hand, were conveyed rapidly on their way to the Shelbourne Hotel, 
the headquarters of the American Team. 

A grand state banquet at the Mansion House, given by the Lord Mayor of 
Dublin to the several visiting Lord Mayors and the teams, filled up the night, 
and a more thoroughly self-satisfied and more fatigued company never lay down to 
rest than the American Team in the "wee sma' hours" of the following morning. 

The scores made in this second Irish- American match are shown in the following 
score : 

AMERICAN TEAM. 



Gen, Thomas 3. Dakin, Rem. Creefl. 
Pno.... 443444444 3 44444. ...53 

900.... 4434334444443 3 4 55 

1,000..., 3 4444443344034 4..., 52— 165 
Col. Henry A. Gildersleeve, Sharps Creed. 
S00....3 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 4.. 56 
90'!.... 4 4444443344434 3. .,,56 
1.000.... 24443334433444 3., ,52— 164 
Col John Bodine, Rem. Creed. 
800. ...4 4344404244344 4. ...52 

9)0 444444444 3 44444 59 

l,0i0....4 4434343442233 4.. .51—162 



POO, 

9 0. 

1,000. 

SOO. 

900. 

1,000. 

800. 

900, 

1,000, 



Maj, Senry Palton, Rem. Creed. 

.3444444443 44 44 4....5S 
4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3..,. .•57 
44 2U4344344 0,,.,46 

W. Yale, Sharps Creed. 

4 3 444444444 4. 

3 34344344 4. 

3 4 4 3 3 3 2 4 4 3. 

Coleman, R'^m. Croed. 
4444444 3 43... S*? 

4 4 *2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 48 

443443 2 44 4.,,.6'2— 168 



,4 4 4 
..3 3 4 

Geo. 
,.244 
... 2 3 
..4 3 

Capt, 

,.4 3 
. . , 
...3 3 



4 3 
3 4 



4 
4 

R C. 
3 4 4 
3 3 4 
3 4 3 



-161 



.57 
.53 
.51—160 



Team Aggregate OG.^ 



41 



IRISH TEAM. 



Jas. Wilson, Rigby. 

800.... 4 444 3 344444444 4. 

90U.... 33424433343334 4. 

1,00 J..., 4 44344444444323. 

Edmund Johnson , Righy. 

3 3 444444444444 4. 

3 4444444433433 3. 

34334443333343 3. 

Dr. J. B. nami'.ton, Rigby. 

800.... 34444444344334 4. 

900.... 3 33434 3 44444434, 

1,000.... 3344444343 3 440 4. 



800. 

900. 

1,000, 



.53 
.60 
.55—163 



.58 
.54 
.50—162 

.56 
.54 
.51— ICl 



800 . 
900.. 
1,000. 

800.. 

900., 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

l.OJO.. 



J. G. Pollock, Rigby. 

44444443444444 4., ..59 
.4 34443442433443.. ..53 
.4 3434433334403 4.... 49— 161 
John McKcnua, Rigby. 

.0 3 44 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 4.... 52 
.2 033443403443 3 4. ...44 
44433443334334 4. ...53— 149 

J. K. Milner. Rigby. 
.0444434444444 4 4., ..55 
3 3 4 4 4 4. ...37 
4 3 3 3... 41—133 



,0 04440300 
.3 404433403 



Team Aggregate 929 



Summary 5 AMERICAN TEAM, 
summary ^ irish TEAM 



800 vards. 

337 

....33S 



900 yards. 
327 

392 



1,000 yards. 
304 
299 



Totiil. 
968 
929 



The running record of the match is shown in the following table. Compared with 
the similar record of the first match on page 17, it will be seen that immediately at the 
opening of the 900 yards range the American took up the lead and held it to the end, 
widening it until at one round 43 points marked the difference between the two teams. 



THE RUNNING RECORD— 1875. 



Distance. 


Rounds. 


Possible. 


Irish 
score. 


American 
score. 


IriPh 
lead. 


American 
lead. 


800 yards. 


1 


24 

48 

72 

96 

120 

144 

168 

192 

216 

240 

264 

288, 

312 

3.S6 

360 

3S4 
408 
432 
456 
480 
504 
528 
552 
576 
600 
624 
648 
672 
696 
720 

744 

768 

792 

816 

840 

864 

888 

912 

936 

960 

984 
1008 
1032 
105S 
10«0 


U 

36 

60 

84 

106 

128 

152 

175 

198 

221 

245 

268 

290. 

314 

338 

353 
366 

388 
409 
432 
451 
471 
490 
5u3 
524 
544 
666 
587 
608 
630 

651 
673 
692 
712 
735 
768 
780 
800 
817 
836 
SH 
876 
893 
908 
929 


20 

43 

64 

88 

111 

134 

154 

178 

200 

222 

245 

268 

290 

314 

337 

355 
374 
396 
419 
440 
462 
485 
508 
528 
551 
575 
598 
619 
642 
604 

683 
704 
127 
749 
771 
790 
809 
830 
851 
873 
892 
905 
927 
950 
96S 


1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1^ 1 1 1 M 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 M 1 I 1 1 1 


6 


>( 


2 


7 


<( 


3 


4 


(( 


4 


4 


(< 


5 


5 


(( 


6 


6 


<( 


7... 


2 


i 


8 


3 


■». 


9 


2 


( 


10 


1 


<( 


11 





t< 


12 





(< 


IB 


~* 


v't 


14 


900 vards. 


15 

16 


2 


17 


8 


It 


18 


8 


(( 


19. 


10 


(( 


20 


8 


1 » 


21 


11 


n 


22 


14 


t( 


23 


18 


<i 


24 


25 


(( 


5 


27 


t( 


.^6 


31 


(< 


n 


32 


<( 


8 


32 


t( 


29 


34 


" 


30 


. 34 


1,000 yards 


31 


82 


.32 


31 


(( 


,3 


35 


It 


U 


37 


<• 


35 


36 


(( 


id 


32 




37 

3S 


29 
30 


<( 


',9 


34 




to 

il 


37 
38 


(( 


2 


29 


(> 


13 


34 


t< 




42 


if 


4^ 


39 



The return match was almost a repetition of the contest of 1874, as far as the men 
engaged were concerned. On the Irish squad the new men were John McKenna and 



43 



J. G. Pollock, replacing Capt. Walker and John Rigby. The new-comers were 
younger men, fair shots— as the records of the Irish Rifle Association show. 
McKenna was a Belfast man and was engaged in shop-keeping there, while Pollock 
was a business man of Dublin. Of the Americans the new-comer, replacing L. L. 
Plepburn, was Ros well Carpenter Coleman, of Goshen, Orange Co., N.'Y. State. 

He was born in that town in Decem- 
ber, 1840 ; but, while yet a young- 
ster, went to reside in the metropolis, 
where he lived till 1860, when, hav. 
ing determined upon the law as a 
profession, he returned to Goshen for 
study, and upon the completion of 
bis course settled there. He was a 
lover of athletic sports, and with a 
good constitution and lithe, active 
body was able to take a successful 
part in field games, and as a " base- 
ballist" he was a success. During 
the excitement of the 1874 rifle 
match he and several other young 
gentlemen of Goshen organized the 
Leather Stocking Rifle Club, and at 
200 yards shooting they enjoyed 
sport during the winter. In January, 
1875, Mr. Coleman, on a visit to 
New York, purchased a Remington 
long-range rifle and 150 cartridges, 
and measuring a distance nearly 800 yards across the meadows, and twisting himself 
up, Mr. Coleman, before the other club men, led off and came very near being him- 
self twisted up by the unlooked-for recoil. When the week for the first contest for 
team places at Creedmoor arrived, Mr. Coleman had the greater portion of his cart- 
ridges yet unburnt. But, under excuse of urgent business, he slipped away from 
home and arrived at Creedmoor the day previous to the first test day in time to fire a 
few shots at 800 and 900 yards, and with this amount of preparation he rushed in for 
glory and a place among the immortals. At 800 and 900 yards, by taking extra cai e, 
he did passably, and he was piled with congratulations by the *' old uns.'' He said 
nothing but ate his lunch, thinking of the grand collapse which was to come at 1,000 
yards. He fired and missed, fired again and, going up, struck into a centre, and with 
six misses and never a bull's-eye, he managed to get twenty-five in a possible sixty 
points at 1,000 j-ards. He was consolingly told that he needed practice, and went 
home to receive a little paternal advice from Mr. Coleman, Sr., who saw in the new- 
fangled sport of rolling on the ground and shooting at a mark only a waste of time 
and money. But the young man worked on, and won for himself a eood name and 
place. In appearance, Mr. Coleman is of fine build, a blende of the most ultra type, 
sandy hair and a Scotch appearance. He is an agreeable companion and has done 
but little field shooting , but, as an angler, is an enthusiastic lover of sport. 

The match at Dollymount was not the only work oh the range which the Ameri- 
can marksmen enjoyed during their stay abroad. In the regular meeting of the Irish 
Rifle Association on the same ranges during the next few days, the Americans took 
an active part. Captain Coleman carrying off the great silver cup of the Illustrated 
Sporting and Dramitlc Neics, valued at 100 guineas. The conditions were three 
shots per man at 500 yards. Gildcrsleeve and Coleman tied on three bull's-eyos each. 
In shooting off each scored another bull's eye. On the second deciding shot Gilder- 




ROSWELL 



COLEMAN. 



43 

sleeve, who was using a Kigby rifle as a novelty, scored a centre, while Coleman fol- 
lowed in another bull and took the great cup. The exploits of the team in Ireland 
would not be fully told without the story of the Clandeboye wind up in the Xonn of 
Ireland, whither the team had gone to enjoy the hospitahty of the Belfast riflemen 
and people. The reception in this Irish Athens was, if anything, even more vigor- 
ously enthusiastic than the first entry into Dublin, and on the 7th of July all were 
off to Clandeboye, the seat of the Earl of Dufferin, a site much favored by the Xorth 
of Ireland riflemen. The firing points lie at the base of the terrace before the man- 
sion, and it vrr.s resolved to shoot five scoring shots at 1.000 yards, and twenty-four 
contestants took part ; but the contest soon narro ;ved itself down to a rifle duel be- 
tween Gildersleeve, the American team captain, and J. S. Lee, one of the hardest 
workers and mo.-t keenly expert men of the Ulster Association, each having nineteen 
points in the possible twenty. It had been agreed to shoot off ties with three shots 
per man, and now these t w^o gentlemen set themselves to win the forty guinea Belfast 
cup. The crowd, which numbered several thousand, it could plainly be seen were 
anxious for a home victory, yet entered keenly into the excitement of the moment. 
Gildersleeve was the first to fire, and got a high centre. Lee followed in a bull, but 
in the next round these shots were reversed and the men stood equal. Again the pair 
fired, and a pair of bull's-eyes left them still equal A dozen glasses were fixed upon 
the distant target, and the crowd of spectators drew in so close as almost to form a 
ring about the shooting couple. It was a test of men and a test of rifles. A full- 
grown sample of American manhood on the one side, with an American breech- 
loader, v.as pitted against this keen-eyed, brawny Scotsman, with his fine Eigby 
rifle. The men were cool and collected, and stood the rounds of cheers which fol- 
lowed each shot with remarkable steadiness.' The first three shots having decided 
nothing, a second trial trio was decided upon, Gildersleeve again leading off. On 
the first round each, made a bull's-eye. and were right royally cheered. On the 
second round this was repeated. On the third round Gildersleeve fixed his sight and 
wind giuge with the greatest care. Aiming long and carefully the bullet was sent 
off. "It's on," was the cry of aU the spotters , but, whether a bull or a centre, was 
in doubt. The butt men came out, too, scrutinizing it well, and hurried back while 
the crowd stood gaping and breathless. It was a repetition of Bodine's famous last 
shot at Creedmoor in 1874, and, as then, the wiiite disk came, and a long chser rolled 
down the range, over the intervening lake to the targets. But Lee had yet to fire, 
and the cro-«rd cut short their noisy enthusiasm as he lay down to aim. A bull's-eye 
alone could save him, and then only to a tie. He had calculated correctly, but the 
strain had been too great and he wavered. His leaden messenger took a wry path, 
and none knew it quicker than he, as on rising he extended the hand of congratulation 
to Colonel Gildersleeve, who a moment later was the centre of a cheering mob. The 
full scores of this most interesting contest stood . 

Match. 

Col. Gildersleeve (Sharps Creed. Rifle) 4 4 4 4 3—19 

Jas. S.Lee (.Rigby Kifle) 4 4 4 3 4—19 

Clandeboye range had indeed passed through an episode to be talked of in after 
years by the coming riflemen. Bidding adieu to their hosts of the day, the team 
were soon on the road for a drive into town. The day had been warm, and the roads 
were dusty, and in their long wagonettes, amid a grave and miscellaneous escort of 
jauntinL-^irs, private carriages, donkey-carts and vehicles of strange and indescrib- 
able "get-up," the team bowled into Belfast, and the shooting of the American team, 
individuaUy and collectively on Irish soil, was brought to a brilliant close. Ending 
up with a beautiful *' buU's-eye," the work of the team from first to last was all that 
the most enthusiastic friend of victory could wish. They had won all they had 
programmed to do , had given the shooting men of Ireland something to study and 
ponder over, while to the common people the visit of the Americans had afforded an 
excuse for a vast discharge and manifestation of love for America and her institu- 



IstTie. 


MTie. 


Total. 


3 4 4—11 


4 4 4—12 


42 


4 3 4—11 


4 4 2—10 


40 



44 



tions. For rifle shooting, nine out of ten in the shouting multitude cared next to 
nothing, but for America they were willing to shout welcomes to the last. To them 
it was a veritable land of promise, and the sight of a band of real Americans 
upon their own soil, gave them precisely the opportunity they coveted to testify 
their regard for the land of the West. 

A run through Scotland and the team reached London and Wimbledon, where 
after vain attempts had been made to secure for them an opportunity of shooting 
beside the national teams in the Elcho Shield match, a special cup was provided and 

shot for by the Americans alone, 
30 shots at 1,000 yards, Fulton 
winning on a score of 133 points. 
This cup, which is a great silver 
tankard, 160 ounces in weight, 
is now shot for annually at the 
Creedmoor fall meetings under the 
same conditions as the "Wimbledon 
Cup." 

A little pleasure trip to Paris and 
the return voyage came, as prosper- 
ous a one as that out, and then 
came a season of hip, hip hurrahs 
and rejoicing at home, with the 
team men as the central figures in 
the cheering and feasting, while to 
the breast of each member of that 
winning team of 1875 the badge 
provided by the Kational Rifle As- 
sociation for the victorious squad 
was attached as shown here, while as 
a memento cf the visit the Ameri- 
cans left to their riflemen friends 
of the Emerald Isle the great ster- 




AMERICAN TiiiAiiI jiaDGiii— jlo7o. 



ling silver trophy, shown on page 28. This work of art was made by Tiffany & Co. , 
of Kew York, and is valued at $1,000, weighing about 120 ounces, and standing, with- 
out the ebony base, twenty-five and a half inches high. 



45 



THE CANADIAN-AMERICAN MATCH — CREED- 
MOOR, 1875. 



" For vainly shall perceptive rules impart 
A perfect knowledge of this manly art ; 
Practice alone can certain skill produce, 
And theory, confirmed by constant use." 



That there should be a liberal and gentlemanly rivalry between Canada and Creed- 
moor was to be looked for, both as a national and personal emulation, and when the 
Americans took the prize in the second Irish contest, they did so with the implied 
duty of meeting all comers who should dare to reach out the hand toward their 
crown. The Canadian riflemen have, with justice, always plumed themselves on 
their great strength with their favorite weapon. The Canada rifle corp were the 
natural outcome of the Wimbledon enthusiasm in the Mother Country, and the 
Canadian Volunteers, of themselves a powerful body, with excellent chances for 
perfecting themselves in individual marksmanship, were re-enforced by the officers 
and privates of the regiments stationed in the Province, who, for professional uses, 
were bound to make rifle shooting a specialty. Add to the Canadian sportsmen and 
Militia the number of old military men wlio have settled in Canada, and it is not to 
be wondered at that the Provinces could make a fine display of marksmanship, and 
turn out a goodly number of accomplished riflemen. Bat- of the match the scores 
were poor. But the wind ! It was a dreadful wind. It cannot be said to have been 
more than brisk, and yet it was of the most capricious character. It was what is 
termed a fish-tail wind. Icthyological readers know the peculiar flare of a fish's 
caudal appendage, and how it streams out. Now the wind would blow from the 
back to the targets — right along the range, while the streamer on both sides of the 
grounds would point inwards, that is, in rifle lingo, it blew IV., VIII., and V, all at 
the same time. It is said in philology that he who acquires, of the commonly used 
languages, Russian, can manage all other living tongues; so he who is "canny " of 
the Creedmoor zephyrs, has at his finger ends any other tantalizing breezes on 
ranges. And so it proved. There is undoubtedly some slight element of luck 
attending Creedmoor, and the elements have been propitious. In the International 
match at Creedmoor in 1874, the hot sun melted down the gallant Irishmen ; now 
the fickle wind blew the Canadian bullets off their track. The Americans were at 
home with the wind, the Canadians were at sea. 

The Canadians had not been uninterested spectators of the feats which their neigh- 
bors over the borders in the American States were doing with the rifle. For years 
the Canadians had supported ranges, taken an active part in target practice both at 
home and through picked teams sent to Wimbledon and other mother country ranges, 
and with a proud reputation for skill at the target, were anxious to share in the glory 
of the international contest, and, accordingly, upon its selection, sent a challenge 
direct to the Americafa rifle team of 1875. The team, considering that they had been 
selected for the specific purpose of meeting the Irish experts, did not feel at liberty 
to meet the Dominion men, but intimated in the reply that a challenge to the Ama- 
teur Eifle Club of New York, as the then leading any-rifle organization in the United 
States, would bring out a team of Americans sufficiently representative to give the 
contest a national significance, and at the same time remarking that the Amateur 



46 

Club team would very likely include several members of the transatlantic team. 
This led to the following letter, which was acted upon at a meeting of the Executive 
Committee Amateur Rifle Club, April 16, 1875: 

Hamilton, April 6. 
Col. George W. Wingate, President Amateur Rifle Club, of New York : 

Dear Sir— At a meeting of the Victoria Rifle Club of this city, held this evening, 
a correspondence between Captain Mason and yourself \('a8 read respecting a pro- 
posed match between the Ontario Any-Rifle Association and the Riflemen of the 
United States. The negotiations for this match having apparently fallen through, I 
was authorized to propose to you a friendly contest between our respective clubs on 
the foflowing conditions : 

CoMPETiTOEs — Eight members of each club on each side. 

Targets, Scoring, Etc. — As at Wimbledon in 1873. 

Ranges — Eight hundred, nine hundred and one thousand yards, fifteen shots at 
each range. 

Rifles — Any not exceeding ten pounds weight, but without telescopic or magnify- 
ing sights; minimum pull of trigger, three pounds. 

Position — Any, not involving artificial rest. 

Place — Creedmoor. 

Time — The Saturday immediately preceding the annual match of the National 
Rifle Association. 

I may add that the Victoria Rifle Club is now in the twelfth year of its existence ; 
that it has a record of which any club may well feel proud, and that it occupies prob- 
ably as leading a position amongst the rifle clubs of Canada as we believe the Ama- 
teur Club of New York does amongst those of the United States. 

C. K. Murray, President Victoria Rifle Club. 

On motion of Mr. E. H. Sanford their offer for friendly contest was accepted, with 
the alteration in the conditions that the new Wimbledon target be used. 

The Canadians wished a trial before the departure for England, but it was finally 
concluded to defer the match until near about the annual prize meeting. Nothing 
more was thought about it until the return of the victors from Dollymount and 
Wimbledon, when a few competitions were ordered for places on the new team. 
During the absence of the champions abroad the "boys," as those left behind were 
termed by the chosen representatives, improved their time in practice, and prospered 
so well, showing such fine scores, that it was thought best to make up the team and 
meet the Canadians entirely from these youngsters, to give them encouragement and 
show that American riflemen included a few other individuals than the team who 
had already served so well for two years. The team-men, busily engaged in private 
matters after their summer from abroad, were unwilling to spare more time for 
practice and preparation to meet the Canadi ms. This apparent neglect was in 
nowise due to any under-appreciation of the ability of the Canadian riflemen. 

The match was finally fixed for September 25th, and the Canadian riflemen came 
down ready prepared to carry off the honors. Old Creedmoor men complained that 
the officers of the club had taken too much risk in putting any but their best men for- 
ward to meet the Ontario men, while the "Kanucks" were chuckling over what they 
felt was to be an easy victory. Indeed, so confident did they feel of winning that 
they complained of ill-treatment in the fact that they were not pitted ag linst the 
genuine American team, the men who had won the battles of Dollj'uiount and 
Creedmoor They wished men worthy of their skill, and felt aggrieved at hnving 
the junior team men selected as their antagonists. They nrngnanimou-ly coosented 
to go on with the match rather than back down after so long a journey, and the 
match opened. The toss for taigets gave the Americans the extreme riijht couple, 
wliile the Canadians occupied the two to the inside of the range. Ea h team was 
divided into two 8(iuads. Messrs. Farwell, Cantield, Hepburn and G«'iger formed 
one of the American groups, and Messrs. Bruce Ilyde, J.-well and Coiilin the other. 
The C'anadifin squads were Messrs. D. Mitchell, IScharz, Wm. ]\Iitcliell and Disher 
on one target, and Messrs. Murray, Murison, Mason and Adam on the other. A large 



47 

company had gone down to watch the proceedings, forming a solid line of spectators 
without the ropes. The day was in every way an enjoyable one ; but to the rifle- 
men it gave promise of requiring their best skill to make even a presentable score. 
In the Canadians especially this feeling was observable, and they consulted for some 
time before firing, even after all the preliminaries of placing men in the butts and 
at the firing point had been duly attended to. The wind which played so pileasantly 
around the lookers-on came from the left rear, or, m riflemen's parlance, was a five 
o'clock wind, and seemed to be a novelty to the Canadian shots. Some of them took 
one view of it and some another, and some anxious turning back and forth of the 
wind gauges took place before a shot was fired. To the Americaa boys, however, 
the wind was one under which they had been trained, possessing no special diflSculty, 
but requiring all watchfulness and care in keeping track of the changeful moods into 
which it lapsed, first on one side of the rear point and then on the other. The breeze 
kept shifting, blowing bullets which were sent as bull's-eyes into right and left cen- 
tres most provokingly. The American team were under strict discipline. General 
Dakin watched carefully every move, keeping the run of the whole shooting, coun- 
selling a bit here, insisting on some move in another direction, and thus in a measure 
carrying out the same tactics of mutual help and aggregate effort which had been so 
happy in its results at DoUymount. At each /American firing point the miniature tar- 
get and record blanks were mounted and kept with watchful eyes, and good glasses 
spotted each shot even before the marker had signaled it. 

The Canadians shot in the style common to Scotch, English and Irish eights at 
"Wimbledon. Each man conducting himself with an air of British independence not 
at all conducive to a grand total display. At the conclusion of the very first round 
the Americans were six points ahead ; four of the home team began their work with 
bull's-eyes, while but one visitor brought up the white disk, and Mr. Mason, the 
steady man of the Canadians, missed the target entirely. The next round brought 
the Americans ten ahead, the following two rounds putting them twelve and thirteen 
points to the lead, a drop to eight and then to two points followed, when the Cana- 
dians stepped modestly ahead with three points, increasing it at the eighth round to 
ten points, the highest lead they had during the whole match. On the ninth round 
the teams were equal ; at the next the Canadians again made a bid for the mastery by 
two points. It was their last chance, for at the next round the Americans went 
ahead, keeping more or less of a head to the very end. When the 800 yards range 
was concluded, their advantage was three points ; not enough to create any great 
exultation, but sufficient to reassure the despondent friends of the American shooters, 
enough to show the Canadian gentlemen that they had met a team very nearly their 
equals. Mr. John Klein, the caterer of the range, had a dinner worthy of the occa- 
sion, and friend and foe, guest and host, spent a pleasant hour in talking over the 
prospects, congratulating each other on what they had done and were to do, mean- 
while uniting in a common attack on the eatables and drinkables. 

The wind held steady in its unsteadiness, and was as " fish-taily " after as before 
dinner. The Americans watched it as one would keSp an eye on the tricks and 
dodges of an old antagonist, while the Canadians studied it as a new feature in their 
rifle shooting experience. They did remarkably well, considering it was their first 
lesson in vear quartering winds, but the Americans did better, and from a lead of 
three points at the opening of the 900 yards range, closed with a lead of no less than 
thirty-one points. At the first round they jumped ahead to eight lead, and at the 
twenty-first round were eighteen points ahead of their opponents, and from that 
round the match was virtually over. It was then a stern chase and a long one, for 
the "Kanucks" never afterward were able to reduce their defeat below the teens. 
Neither side was clear of blunders, the error of firing on the wrong target being com- 
mitted from either wing of the field. The Americans fired in supine posture, every 
one of them using some position other than the standard prone pasture. The Cana- 



48 

dians all employed the res:nlation attitude of face down, holding their rifles to the 
shoulder without any support of leg or knee to the barrel. 

The 1,000 yards range — which was entered upon at once at. the finish of the 900 
yards— firing did not materially change the relative standing of the two teams. The 
Canadians at one time were thirty-eight points behind, while at the finish they had 
reduced the lead of the Americans to twenty-five points. The shooting was fairly 
good on both sides, but while the Canadians made but 131 bull's-eyes in the 360 
shots fired, the Americans scored 156 The list of misses was nine for the visitors 
to the home team's seventeen. The Canadian average per man was 173, while the 
victors averaged 176. The record of the men at the several distances stood as follows : 

AMERICAN TEAM. 



Yards. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

A 
800. 
900. 
1,000. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000 . 



W. B. Farwell— Ttemington Rifle. 

Scores. Totals. 

..5 55552544555455 ....69 
..523544434455 3 5 5. ...61 
..4 54454543453355 ....63—193 
. V. Canfleld, Jr.— Remington Rifle. 
,..5 35545553445405. ...62 
..5 35535455445555.. 68 
,..3 3523355354245 5....57— 18T 
L. L. Hepburn— Remington Rifle. 
...3 5344 5 555245055. ...60 
,..4 04455555545443 ....62 
...4 54545553555052 ....62—184 



L. C. Bruce— Sharps Rifle. 
.6 54430445445552. 



..5542534534545 
..3 553355534435 



.59 
63 
.61—183 



P. Hyde— Remington Rifle. 

Yards. Scores. Totals. 

8<0... .254555535345545. ...65 
9'i0....0 3454545434455 .O....H0 

1,000 3 04563243445555 ...56-181 

H. S. Jewell— Sharps Rifle. 

800.... 4 554 5 424 5 554254. ...63 
900..,. 5 5500335855423 3.. ..51 

1,000.... 4 34545554355455 . 66—180 
J. S. Conlin— Sharps Rifle. 
800.... 3 554324r3335533... 51 
900.... 5 3 5 50433353354 4. ...5'. 

1,000. ...4 3554043533404 5. ...52— 158 

L. Geiger— Remington Rifle. 
800.... 5 550032055344 3 2. ...46 
900... 322424524033454. ...47 
1,000... 25053454425530 3....5'— U8 



Team aggregrate 1,4^9 



CANADIAN TEAM. 



Yards. 

800.. 

900.. 
1 000... 

800... 

900... 

1,000... 

800... 

900... 

1,000... 

800... 

900... 

1,000.., 



George Murison— Metford Rifle. 

Scores. Totals. 

..4 5553455354555 4. ...67 
..5 4542255333545 3. ...58 
..4 5535524452555 5.... 64— 189 
J. J. Mason— Metford Rifle. 

.0 5544455553544 5. ...63 
.5 3 3 32555345234 4. ...55 
.4 55455553343254... .62—181 

D. Mitchell— Metford Rifle. 
.5 3235553240553 3. ...53 
.2 54444555354555 ....65 
.4 40355555055553... .59—177 
Wm. Mitchell— Metford Rifle. 



.5 4445253434443 4. ...53 
.5 52454443523533 ....57 
.3 455444532 2 435 4....57- 



-172 



F. Schwarz— Metford Rifle. 

Yards. Scores. Totals. 

800. ...3 45354533455342.. ..58 
900. ...4 444500 3 3453553. ....'>2 

1,000. ...4 50 5 54553355245.. . .60— 170 

C. R. Murray— Metford Rifle. 
300. 34534544254355 4. ...60 
91)0.... 3 44503254324 3 54. ..51 
1,000.... 3 335353 3 353554 4.... 57— 168 
Geo. Disher— Metford Rifle. 
800... .2 53445543444435. ...59 
90;)....2 23330444445525. ...50 
1,000.. ..4 3453 3 434235555 ....68—167 
James Adam— Rigby Rifle. 
800. ...4 454433 5 3 50234 5. ...54 
900. ...4 2332325543552 2, ...50 
1,000. ...5 35444344244334... 56—160 



Team aggregate 1,384 

800 yards. 900 yards. l,00n yards. Total. 

/AMERICAN TEAM 475 4r,9 467 1,409 

\CANADIAN TEA.M 472 439 473 1,381 



Summary , 



49 



RU"LES of the National Rifle Association, Governing the 
Practice of Members and Military Squads upon the 
Range at Creedmoor, 1877. 



I. — The Range will be open daily, Sundays excepted, to members of the Associa 
tion only (who must exhibit their badges on entering, and wear them when practic 
ing), except that upon Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays it may be used by members 
of the National Guard tc/idn. in uniform {i. e., jacket, pantaloons and cap). There 
wiU be no tiring on the Range betore 6 a. m. (unless by permission of Superintend- 
ent, and on previous notice to him), or after 7 p. m. 

MARKERS. 

n. — No persons will be allowed to act as markers, except those employed by the 
Superintendent. 

III. — jMarkers may be engaged for stipulated hours and days, at the office of the 
Association, 23 Park Row, not less than twenty-lour hours, nor more than a week 
in advaace, or at the Superintendent's office, on the Range, on or previous to the day 
of practice, by paying the cbarge therefor at the rate of fifty cents per hour, or $2.50 
a day. Members neglecting to engage markers until visiting the Range must take 
the risk of the Superintendent's being able to supply them. The price for the mark- 
er and ior ammunition and rifles (if required,) must be paid for on making the ap- 
plicaticn. Rifles will be furnished at twenty-five cents per day, or any part thereof, 
and ammunition at the usual retail price. 

rV.— Markers for organizations of the National Guard ordered to Creedmoor for 
practice, not to exceed twenty in number, win be provided without charge to such 
roganizations. 

V. — It will be remembered that notice to secure a marker is only designed to en 
able the Superintendent to procure additional men if required. It does not give those 
engaging sucJi marker ang exclusive right to a target if other members cannot be accom- 
modated without using it. 

yi. — Where the number of targets is limited, the Superintendent will be authorized 
to assign new comers to a target in use upon their paying, on joining the sq^uad, their 
pro rata share for the markers to those who have originally been assigned to it. 

VII. — Markers will receive orders and instructions from no one but the Superin- 
tendent of the range. Members of the Association are forbidden to communicate 
with a marker, except by the established signals, or through the Superintendent. 

YIII. — No person, except a marker, will be allowed in the butts during the firing 
without authority from the Superintendent, nor wiU any person be allowed to walk 
upon the parapet or the embankment. 

TARGETS. 

IX. — Application for targets will be made upon the range by filling up the pre- 
scribed blank. The Superintendent shall make such assignments of the targets as in 
his judgment shall best accommodate the greatest number of members. He will not 
assign new-comers to targets already engaged without the consent of the first comers, 
unless compelled to do so by want of target accommodation or markers. 

X. — When each member of a squad has fired not to exceed ten shots, if there are 
other members of the squad waiting, the former must give place to the latter, so as 
to afford all an equal chance to shoot. 

XL — First class targets are those used at 700, 800, 900 and 1,000 yards; second- 
class are those used at 400, 500 and 600 yards ; and the third class are those used at 
100, 200 and 300 yards. 

XII.— In all cases an interval of at least seven targets will be left between the fir- 
ing points, where the firing is at different classes, and of three targets when at differ- 



50 

ent distances in the same class. Members practicing at the same time as the troops 
must shoot upon the same line with them, unless an interval of seven targets can be 
left between them. 

XIII. — The Superintendent is authorized to allow an additional number of targets 
to be used at any class and correspondingly reduce those used at the other classes, 
when necessary to accommodate the members or to permit a match to take place, lie 
is aUo authorized to suspend practice at any time when the markers' services are 
necessary to change the targets, or otherwise prepare the range for the next day. 

HOURS OF PRACTICE. 

Xiy. — On Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays the range will be used by the 
National Guard for class firing. Twenty targets, or as many within that number as 
may be required, will be used by the troops. The rest will be at the service of the 
members of the Association. When the Range is not used by the troops on these 
days, the target will be used as at other times. 

XV. — If there be no application to practice at a particular distance at the hour 
designated therefor, the Superintendent is authorized to permit practice at any other 
prescribed distance until such application be made. 

XVI. — The Running Deer may be used at all times. Price for markers, seventy- 
five cents an hour. 

XVII. — The rules in regard to the hours of practice will be suspended during any 
regular or special match of the Association, or of any aMiating association or club 
(having permission to use the range for such a purpose), so far as not to interfere 
with the progress of the match. Notice of all such matches will be posted on the 
bulletin-board at least a week in advance. 

DUTIES OF SUPERINTENDENT. 

XVIII. — The Superintendent will on the morning of each day post upon the bulle- 
tin-board the programme of that day and of the day following. 

XIX. — The Superintendent will have general supervision of the firing, and be re- 
sponsible for its being managed with order and safety. In case of any violation of 
the Associatfon's rules, or any conduct tending to injure the property of the Associa- 
tion, cause any accident, or create any disturbance, he will at once require the 
offender to desist from firing, and if necessary to quit the range, and will report in 
writing all such offenders to the Range Committee. 

XX — No hair-triggers will be allowed on the Range. No member shall cap a 
muzzle-loader or load a breech-loader, except at the firing point, and when about to 
fire. If the danger signal is shown the breech block must be opened. 

XXI. — No fees or compensation will be paid to any marker or other employee of 
this Association. 

XXII. — In case implements, property, or tools belonging to the range are lost, 
destroyed, or damaged by a member or a military organization, or by any of the em- 
ployees of the range, the value thereof will be charged to such em plo^'ee, member, 
or organization, and reported in writing at once by the Superintendent to the Range 
Committee; and in case the same is not repaid on demmd, such nie;nber, or in cas ; 
of a militajy organization, the members thereof will be excluded from the privileges 
of the Range. 

XX 1 11. — The national standard will be displayed from the main flag-staff from 
sunrise until sunset on all the national and State holidays, and days of matches. 
Also, when the. Range is in nse by organizations of the National Guard, and wliea 
visited by high civic or military officials. 

The red flag will be displayed fr.)m the flag-staff at Superintendent's office at all 
hours of praciice and during matches, and only at such times. 

The Embankment streamers will be displayed during all matches and all hours of 
practice. 

XXIV. — The attention of those using the Range is called to the following pro- 
visions of Chapter G99, Laws 1872: "For the purpose of preserving the properij- of 
the State and of the National Rifle Association upon such Range, and of preventing 
accidents, the persons employed thereon by said Rifle Association are hereby vesU'd 
witli the powers of constables when in the performance of their duties, and wearing 
such badge of ofiice as shaU be prescribed by such Association', and all persons tres- 
passing upon such Range, or injuring any of the targets or other property situate 
thereon, or wilfully violating uny of tlie regulations established to secure safety 
thereon, shall be deemed guilty of a disdemeanor." 



51 



REGULATIONS for the Government of Competitions Upon 
th.e Range at Creednnoor, L, I. 



I.-M ANAGEMENT. 

1. The annual meetings for competitions will be condncted by an Executive Offi- 
cer, wearing a tri-colored badge, aided by a Statistical Officer, wearing a blue badge, 
and assistants, wearing red badges. All other association competitions will be con- 
ducted by an Officer or Director of the Association, or other competent person, 
designated by the Senior Officer or Director present on the range at the hour of 
shooting, unless previously designated. In the absence of Officers and Directors, 
the Assistant Secretary or Superintendent of Range shall act as, or designate an Ex- 
ecutive Officer. 

2. The Executive Officer shall have control of the range for the conduct of 
matches. 

3. These regulations, and such directions as the Executive Officer may give, 
must be rigidly complied with by competitors and all other persons upon the range 
grounds. *■' 

4. During the progress of a match, no one, except the officers and employees of 
the Association, tho competitors and the scorekeepers, will be permitted within the 
ropes without special permission of the Executive Oiacer. 

5. The squads of competitors will be stationed not less than four yards in the 
rear of the firing points, where each competitor must remain until called by the 
scorekeeper to take his position at the firing point, and until he has completed his 
score. The scorekeepers will be seated close to and in the rear of the firing point 
stakes. 

6. Scorekeepers shall, as each shot is signalled, call in a Ljud voice the name of 
the competitor and the value of the shot, and at the conclusion of the score of each 
com etitor announce in like manner his name and total score. 

Competitors must pay attention to fJie scores as announced and recorded so that any 
error may be promptly investigated. 

7. All competitors will be allowed to examine the records of the scorekeepers 
during the progress of any match. 

8. All protests and objections must be made to the Executive Officer in charge of 
the match, or in his absence to one of his assistants. In ease a competitor is dissatis- 
fied with the decision of the latter, he may appeal to the Executive Officer. 

9. Any competitor feeling himself aggrieved by the ruling of an Executive Offi- 
cer, may make to the Secretary a statement of his grievance in -writing, giving the 
names of two or more witnesses in the case, which shall be handed at once to the 
Executive Committee for its consideration. The decision of the Executive Commit- 
tee shall be final, subject, however, to the discretion of said Committee, or any two 
members of it, to refer the matter to the Board of Directors for its decision. 

10. The Statistical Officer shall have charge of all statistics connected with the 
Spring and Fall meetings. 

II.— RIFLES. 

The rifles allowed to be used in the competitions are — 1st. Military rifles ; 2d. 
Any rifle; and must comply with the following conditions, viz.: 

1. MiLiTABT RrpLES, Weight (without bayonet) not to exceed 9 lbs. 4 oz. Stock, 
sufficiently strong for military purposes, and such as to admit the use of a sling ; 
pull of trigger, six pounds. Sights to be of bona fide military pattern, to Reat- 
tached to the barrel, and to be without any movable adjustment other than a hniied 
flap and sliding bar, to be moved by hand only. In military team matches (unless 
otherwise specified), competitors must use the rifle with which the organization to 
which ihey belong is armed, at public expense. Filing or altering the sights of such 
rifles, or of the rifles used by the National Guard, or regular forces (except as au- 
thoiized by the military authorities thereof), or using them in any other way than 
as originally intended, is prohibited, except that the sliding-bar of the rear sight may 
be inverted, and Hues drawn to mark the centre. Sights may be blackened, but not 
whitened or colored. Any pad or shoe for the heel of the butt is disallowea. 

2. AxY Rifle, maximum weight ten pounds, minimum pull of trigger three 



pounds, sights of any description, except telescope, magnifying and such front aper- 
ture sights as solid discs or bushes pierced in tlie centre, which cover the target so as 
to conceal the danger signal when displayed. No stirrup constructed of metal or 
other substance, connected to the rifle by straps of any kind, for the piup )se of tak- 
ing up or lessening the recoil of the rifle, will be allowed in any of the matches of 
this Association. 

3. Competitors shall submit their rifles and ammunition for inspection whenever 
required. 

4. No hair triggers will be allowed. 

5. No fixed artificial rests will be allowed. 

6. In all competitions confined to the use of breech-loaders, the gun shall be load- 
ed at the breech with fixed ammunition. 

III.— A M MUNITION. 

1. For the competitions restricted to the National Guard S. N. Y., atnmunition 
will be furnished by the State, and issued to competitors on the ground. 

2. In all other competitions, unless otherwise specified, any ammunition may be 
used, and must be provided by the competitors, 

IV.— T A R G E T S . 

The targets are divided into three classes, and shall be of the following sizes : 

1. <Third Class, to be used at all distances up to and including 300 yards — Target, 
4x6 feet. Bull's-eye, circular, 8 inches in diameter; Centre, circular, 20 inches in di- 
ameter; Inner, circular, 46 inches in diameter ; Outer, square, 4x6 feet. 

2. Second Glass, to be used at all distances over 300, to and including 600 yards — 
Targets, 6x6 feet. Bull's-eye, circular, 22 inches in diameter; Centre, circular, 38 
inches in diameter; Inner, circular, 54 inches in diameter; Outer, square, 6x6 feet. 

3. First Class, to be used at all distances over 600 yards — Target, 6x12 feet. 
Bull's-eye, circular, 36 inches in diameter; Centre, circular, 54 inches in diameter; 
Inner, square, 6x6 feet; Outer, square, 6x12 feet. 

v.— M ARKING, SCORING AND SIGNALING. 

1. Bult's-eye counts 5, signal, white circular disc ; Centre, counts 4, signal, red 
disc ; Inner counts 3, signal, white and black disc ; Outer counts 2, signal, black 
disc ; Ricochet, scored R, signal, red flag waved twice right and left in front of the 
target. Ricochet hits will be marked out after the flag signal. 

2. When a shot strikes the angle iron upon which the target stands, the marker 
will open the trap and raise and lower his flag three times in front of the target. 

3. Any objection to the scoring of a shot as signaled, or to one not signaled, must 
be made before another shot is fired. 

4. Any alteration of a scoring ticket must be witnessed by an officer in charge of 
the firing point, and indorsed with his initials. 

VL— RUNNING DEER. 

1. Will be run only by signal from firing point. Any rifle may be used provid- 
ed the sights are over the centre of the barrel. Position, standing ; distance, 100 
yards, unless otherwise prescribed. A fine of ten cents will be imposed for firing 
out of bounds, not firing, or hitting the haunch. 

Scoring and Signaling. — Bull's-eye, white disc, counts 4 ; Centre, red disc, 
counts 3 ; Outer, black disc, counts 2 ; Haunch, white disc, with black cross, scor- 
ing H. 

VII.— MATCHES. 

1. The commencement of matches at the Spring and Fall meetings will be signaled 
by the firing of two guns, fifteen minutes apart. The first wilf be the signal for 
compel itors and scorekeepers to assemble at the firing points, and the second to com- 
mence filing. 

2. The matches will take place, if possible, in the order named in the programmes. 
The time for firing them, together with any deviation from the progiammes, will he 
posted upon the bulletin board at headqiiuters as long beforehand as practicable. 
The pouting upon such bulletin will be considered sufficient notice to all competitors of 
eGerything so posted. 

3. Competitors are requested to frequently examine the bulletin-board, where they 
will learn the targets to which they are assigned and other necessary information. 

4. Temporary discontinuance of matches on account of bad weather (which will 
be in the discretion of the Executive Officer), and discontinuance for noon-day in- 



53 

termission, will be signaled by the firing of a gun. In each case the competitions 
will be resumed upon the firing ot two guns, as in the commencement. 

5. No practice will be allowed upon the range on any of the days of the annual 
meetings for competitions. This does not apply to days upon which special matches 
of the Association, or of affiliating Associations or Clubs, take place. 

VI 1 1. -ENTRIES. 

1. For the State prize, and all other competitions open to military organizations, 
the teams shall (unless otherwise specified) consist of twelve from each regiment, 
battalion, company, or troop. 

2. All regimental officers shall be eligible as pjembers of such teams. 

3. In all cases competitors for the State or other prizes offered to military organi- 
zations must be regularly enlisted memb^^rs in good standing of the regiment, bat- 
talion, company, or troop which they represent, and shall have been such for at 
least three months prior to the match for which they are entered, all entries must 
be made for full teams. 

4. Entries should be made at the office of the Association, 23 Park Row, New 
York, at least two days preceding the commencement of the meeting at which the 
match is to take place. A charge of fifty per cent, additional will be imposed for all 
entries made after that time. 

5. A member of the Association entering for a match on the range must exhibit 
his badge. 

6. A register ticket jnay be transferred at any time before the firing for the match 
has commenced by exchanging it at the office of the Statistical Officer for one haviog 
the name of the new holder. Any erasure, or the substitution of one name for 
another, will render the ticket invalid. 

7. Competitors who are prevented from being present at any meeting shall have 
the entrance fees they have paid returned after the meeting, provided that they send 
their tickets and give written notice to the Secretary before the day on which the 
prize for which they have entered has been announced for competition. 

8 Competitors prevented from competing by illness will receive back their 
entrance f ei s in full on production of a medical certificate and their entry tickets. 

9. Post entries are those made after the entry books are closed at the office of the 
Association. 

10. The holders of post entry tickets may be ordered to fire whenever target 
accommodation can be provided, but should they be precluded from competing by 
deficiency of target accommodation, their entrance fees will be returned to them, 
the Executive Officer not being able to guarantee accommodation for all such 
entries. 

11. No post entries shall be made for any competition after the firing in such 
competition has commenced. 

IX.— SHOOTING. 

1. Two sighting shots shall be allowed to every competitor at each distance on 
payment of ten cents a shot, unless otherwise specified. 

2. Tickets for sighting shots will be sold upon the ground, and will be good for 
any match during the meeting. Competitors must decide before firing upon the 
nuuiber of sighting shots they will take, and hand the tickets for the same to the 
scorer. Sighting shots cannot be counted upon a score. 

3. Competitors who, at the close of the firing on any day, have not completed the 
number of rounds prescribed by the conditions of a competition, shall be allowed 
one sighting shot when such competition is resumed, without charge. 

4. Id all competitions restricted to military rifles the competitors shall place them- 
selves at the firing point by twos, who shall fire alternately until they have fired all 
their sighting and competitive ehots. 

5. Id other competitions the competitors shall fire their sighting and competitive 
shots alternately throughout the squad. 

6. In all competitions confined to military organizations competitors shall shoot in 
the authorized uniform of their corps, including waist belts. 

7. Competitors may wipe or clean out their rifles during any competition except 
those restricted to the use of military rifles. 

8. Whenever the danger flag is displayed competitors about to fire will be required 



54 

to open the breech block of their rifles (if breech-loaders^ If they leave the firing 
point they must draw ilie cartridge. 

9. No two competitors shall be allowed to shoot with the same rifle in the same 
match. 

10. Any competitor delaying his squad will be passed by. In no case will the fir- 
ing be dela3'ed to enable a competitor to procure a rifle. 

11. In all military matches each team will be limited to an average of one minute 
per shot for each squad to complete its score. 

12. Any competitor engaged in an uncompleted match at the time fixed for the 
commencement of another, for wiiich he is entered, on reporting the fact to the 
Executive Officer, will, if it be practicable, be assigned a target to enable him to 
shoot in such match upon the completion of that in which he is shooting. 

X.— POSITION. 

1. In all matches (except those for cavalry carbines) the position up to and in- 
cluding 300 yards shall be standing. The left elbow may be rested against the 
body, provided the little finger of the left hand is in front of the trigger guard. 

2. In all military infantry matches, at 400 yards, the position shall be kneeling ; 
at distances above 400 yards any position may be taken in which the head is toward 
the target. 

3. In cavalry carbine matches the position, at 200 yards, shall be standing ; at 300 
yards, kneeling ; over that distance, in any position (as prescribed for infantry), 

4. In all Of her matches, at a distance above 300 yards, any position may be taken 
without artificial rests to the rifle or body. 

5. One-armed competitors shall be allowed to use false arms without extra sup- 
port in the standing and kneeling positions, and to a>sume any position in the use of 
military rifles at distances above 400 yards, the same as is allowed for any rijles. 

6. Sighting shots may be fired in any position, without artificial rests. 

7. In all cases the gun shall be held clear of the ground. 

XL— TIES. 

I. — Ties shall be decided as follows : 

A. — In Individual Shooting. — 1. "When the firing takes place at more than ot?? 
distance by the score made at the longest distance ; and if still a tie, and there be 
three distances in the competion, by the score at the second distance. 

2. By the fewest misses. 

3. By the fewest outers. 

4. By the fewest inners. 

5. If still a tie, by inverse order of shots, counting singly from the last to the 
first. 

6. By firing single shots at the longest range. 

B.— In Team Shooting. — 1. By the aggregate scores made at the longest dis- 
tance. 

2. By the fewest misses. 

3. By the fewest outers. 

4. By the fewest inners. 

5. By the competitor on each side who has made the highest score firing five 
rounds at the longest distance. 

II. — The names of competitors who have to shoot off ties will be posted on the 
bulletin-board as soon after each match as practicable. 

III. — When the ties are shot off one sighting shot shall be allowed without 
charge. 

IV. — Competitors not present at the firing points at the hour named for shooting 
off ties lose tiicir right to shoot. 

V. — Tf, having forfeited their right to compete, they shall still be within the 
number of prize winners, they shall take any prize that may be allotted to them by 
the Executive Committee. 



55 

XIL— PRIZES. 

1. Prize winners will, upon application to the Statistical Officer on the range, re- 
ceive certificates, which must bo given up on receiving the prizes. 

2. Prizes will be delivered on the range at the close of the meeting, under the 
direction of the Executive Officer. 

3. The principal prizes at the annual Fall meeting will be formally presented to 
the winners of the State Arsenal, Seventh avenue, corner of Fhirty-fif th street. New 
York, on the Saturday following the last day of such meeting, at 8 p. m., unless 
otherwise announced. Winners who will be unable to attend are requested to give 
notice at the Headquarter Office upon the Range. 

4. All prizes not claimed within one month after the match at which they have 
been won shall be forfeited to the Association. 

XIIL— PENALTIES. 

Competitors must make themselves acquainted with the regulations, as the plea of 
ignorance of them will not be entertained. 

1. Any competitor who fires in a name other than his own, or fires twice for the 
same prize, shall be disqualified from ever again competing at the prize meetings of 
the Association, or for any prize offered tu the National Guard elsewhere. 

2. Should a competitor lose his register ticket, omit to take it to the firing point, 
fail to attend at the prescribed hour, or give a wrong ticket, and so by his own neg- 
lect miss the opportunity given to him of competing for the prize for which his 
ticket was issued, his claim in regard to such competition shall be cancelled. 

3. Any competitor who shall be detected in an evasion of the constitution pre- 
scribed for the conduct of any match, or shall offer money or a bribe of any kind to 
an employee, shall be disqualified from further competition during that meeting, and 
forfeit his entrance fees ; or if he be guilty of any conduct considered by the Ex- 
ecutive Committee as "discreditable," he shall be disqualified from ever again com- 
peting at the N. R. A. prize meetings, and shall forfeit all prizes won by him at the 
current meeting. 

4. Any member of a squad or firing party who shall fire a shot from any other 
firing point after the hour prescribed for his squad to fire, and before he has com- 
pleted his score (except in pm'suance of orders), shall be disqualified in that com- 
petition. 

5. Any competitor discharging his rifle accidentally, either by his own want of 
care, or by reason of any defect in the rifle, will be liable to disqualification. 

6. Any competitor refusing to obey any instructions of the Executive Officer or 
his assistants, or violating any of these regulations, or being guiliy of unruly or dis- 
orderly conduct, or being intoxicated, will be immediately ruled out of all further 
competition, and forfeit his entrance fees. 

7. Any person, whether a competitor or not, interfering with any of the firing 
squads, or annoying them in any way, will be at once expelled from the ground. 

8. Any competitor firing when the danger flag or trap disc is shown at the target 
or firing point, or knowingly discharging his rifle, except at a target to which he has 
been assigned, or into the ground, and as may be directed by any officer, shall be 
debarred from all further competitions during the meeting, and shall forfeit his 
entrance fees. This shall not apply to a competitor accidently firing at the wrong 
target when no danger disc is up. 

9. Any person firing on a wrong target will be fined $1, or, if he be shooting in a 
match, will be debarred from further competition therein, or both, in the discretion 
of the Executive Officer. 

10. Any person discharging a rifle or snapping a cap within the enclosure, except 
in accordance with the regulations for shooting, may, at the discretion of the Ex- 
ecutive Officer, be required to leave the ground, and be debarred from further com- 
petition. 

11. Any competitor or other person found with a loaded rifle, except at the firing 
points and when about to shoot, may be debarred from further competition during 
that meeting. 

12. Any competitor in National Guard matches, using any other ammunition than 
that issued to him on the ground, or in any way tampering with that so issued, shall 
be disqualified for all f utm*e matches. 



66 

AFFILIATION. 

All rifle associations or clubs practicing in accordance with the rules of the 
National Rifle Association, by annually paying to its Treasurer the sum of twenty- 
five ($25) dollars, and forwarding to it a copy of their By Laws, the names and ad- 
dresses of their ofiicers, and the number of their members, certified as correct by 
their Secretary, shall thereupon become entitled to the following privileges (which 
shall also be enjoyed by those military organizations joining at half rates.) 

I. — To annually nominate ten of their members, who shall be entitled to all the 
privileges of annual members of the National Rifle Association during the spring and 
fall matches, and for one week prior to each thereof. In the case of associations or 
clubs located outside the cities of New York and Brooklyn, the privileges of the ten 
so selected shall continue for the year. 

II. — To have the names and addresses of their officers, and the scores made dur- 
ing the year in their two principal association, club, company, or troop matches, to 
be certified as correct by their Secretary, printed in each annual report of the 
National Rifle Association, and to receive twenty-five copies of such report, to be 
forwarded to their Secretary without charge. 

III. — To send a delegate (or in cases of associations or clubs having a membership 
of over fifty a delegate for every fifty members in good standing upon their roll) to 
confer with the Directors of the National Rifle Association, at a Convention to be 
held in the City of New York each year, diu-ing or as near the fall meeting as pos- 
sible, in regard to the rules and fall programme of the latter, and the general in- 
terests of rifle practice in America. 

IV. — To receive in each year the Bronze Medal of the National Rifle Association, 
to be competed for by their members, as may be prescribed by their officers. 




THE CENTENNIAL TROPHY. 



07 



THE CENTENNIAL RIFLE MATCH, CREEDMOOR, 1876. 



We reacti the hand 

Of loving welcome, while we test 

Your skill, and willing rivals stand ; 

No nobler rivals we desire 

Than children sprang from Celt or Saxon sire. 



It had been much talked of during the progress of the Irish-American contests of 
1874 and 1875 that the Centennial year of American Independence be signalized by 
the riflemen of this country in the issuance of a broad challenge to the riflemen of 
the worid, and the institution of a series of periodical matches in which American 
riflemen should measure their ability with the picked teams of other countries. 
The National Kifle Association took the matter up and provided by subscription a 
great trophy, which should serve as the emblem of victory to the winners and the 
badge of championship to such as were able to hold the object. The work was 
undertaken in conjunction with the work of the U. S. Centennial Commission, whose 
intention it was to make a Rifle Tournament one of the features of the Exhibition. 
Time was taken by tlie forelock, and on Nov. 9, 1875, CoL Gildersleeve oflered the 
following resolutions, which were adopted : 

Resolved, 1. That in furtherance of the steps already taken for a Grand Interna- 
tional Competition on the occasion of the Centennial Anniversary of American Inde- 
penuence, and for a prooer observance of such Anniversary on the part of this As- 
sociation, a st-ries of Rifle Matches be inaugurated to take place during the Summer 
or Autumn of 1876, and a general invitation be and hereby is extended to riflemen of 
all Countries to participate. 

2. That the Executive Committee be requested to confer with the Centennial 
Commission, and ascertain to what extent said Commission will co-operate in carry- 
ing out such a programme as this Association may adopt for the occasion referred to. 

3. That the Executive Committee be requested to prepare and submit to this 
Board, at as early a day as practicable, a suitable programme for said International 
and other matches, with an estimate of the amount of money necessary, in their 
judgment, for the proper execution of such programme. 

4. That the Executive Committee be empowered to determine and agree with the 
Centennial Commission as to the place at which the Grand International Competi- 
tion shdl come off, and to arrange all the necessary details. 

5. That tile President and Secretary be authorized and requested to notify, in the 
name of this Association, Riflemen of England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, 
Austria, the Oominion of Canada, the South American States, and all other coun- 
tries having rifle associations or clubs, of the opportunity presented to them to par- 
ticipate in the competition.^ instituted. 

6. That a cordial invitation be and hereby is extended to all affiliating associa- 
tions and clubs to co-operate with this Association in carrying out the programme to 
be adopted. 

A circular letter was prepared and sent out to every foreign rifle association known 
to the American shooters, requesting that the respective countries be represented in 
the matches contemplated in honor of the Centennial Anniversary of American In- 
dependence. These matches to constitute one of the features of the Centennial 
Exhibition, and to be conducted under the auspices of the Centennial Commission. 
The principal match to be for the "Championship of the World," open to teams of 
eight" from each country, distances 800, 900 and 1,000 yards, Creedmoor rules. 
Prize— a Trophy presented by tae citizens of the United States, with other matches 
for shorter distances, and for military and other arms, and signifying the intention 



68 

of the National Kifle Association to make the American Kifle Tournament of 1876 
one of great interest to all who participate. 

It was hoped to have the matches fought near Philadelphia, the seat of the Exhi- 
bition, but no better range than that at Creedmoor existing, it was resolved to fight 
the match there. The Amateur Club was invited as the leading small-bore rifle club' 
of the country to participate through a committee in the management of the match. 
Considerable correspondence arose touching the claim made by the National Rfle 
Association of Great Britain, that an Imperial or British team should be sent in lieu 
and to the exclusion of separate teams from Scotland, Ireland and England, and the 
rules were so far modified by the donors of the trophy as to permit the attendance 
and competition of such mixed or British team either in addition to or in place of the 
separate national teams, the result of the communications and counter-communica- 
tions being that England decliued any participation at that time, while Scotland and 
Ireland sent teams, as did also Canada and Australia, to take part in the Centennial 
matches. Meanwhile the joint committee on the matter issued the following pro- 
gramme for the selection of the team : 

New Yoek, March 6, 1876. 
To the Gitize7is of the United States : 

The following are the conditions prescribed for the selection of the American Rifle 
Team to represent the United States in tbe great International Long Range Match 
for the Championship of the World, to take place at Creedmoor, L. i., Sept. 14 and 
15, 1876, under the aaspices of the Centennial Commission : 

Eight men, who shall constitute the team, and four others, who fjhall be known as 
reserves, shall be selected for their merits a3 determined by three competitions at 
Creedmoor in the manner following : 

Competition I. — Open to all native-born citizens of the United States ; to take 
place May 3i and June 1, 1876; fifty shots each day by each competitor — fifteen at 
800 yards, fifteen at 900 yards, and twenty at 1,000 yards. 

Competition II. — Open to the sixteen men making the highest aggregate scores in 
Couipetitiim I. ; to be shot June 6 and 7, 1876, same number of shois and same dis- 
tances as in Competition I. ; the twelve men making the highest aggregate scores in 
this competition and in Competition I., to be the twelve men wha shall constitute 
the team and reserve. 

Competition III. — Open only to the team and reserves ; to take place June 13 and 
14, 1876 ; same number of shots and same conditions as in Competition I. ; the ag- 
gregate scores in this competition and Competition II. shall determine the order of 
merit of these twelve competitors ; the competitor having the highest aggregate 
score taking first place on the team, and so on, according to their respective aggre- 
gate scores; the first eight to constitute the team, the balance the reserves : rifles, 
sights, targets, marking, scoring, and position to be according to the printed regu- 
lations of the National Kifle Association of America. 

Weapons, any rifles, within said regulations. No sighting shots in any of the 
foregoing competitions, and no practice by competitors on the days of said com- 
petitions. If a competitor who has entered for the foregoing competitions shall, for 
any reasons satisfactory to the committee charged with tiie conduct of said compe- 
titions, be unable to finish his score or compete on any day above named, then said 
committee shall, in their discretion, fix another day or days for such competitor to 
finish his score, or shoot such part of the competitions as he may have missed. The 
said committee shall have the power to say when, if at all, a competition or any part 
there )f shall be postponed on account of stormy weather, and name the day or days 
when the same shall be resumed or completed. 

As soon as practicable after the completion of Competition II. the team and reserve 
shall, by a majority vote of the twelve, elect a captain, not of their number. The 
captain when elected shall have the management of the team, and prescribe the rules 
for its government and practice. 

Each person entering for Competition I. shall subscribe to the following: 

I desire to comp te for a place in tlie American Fti'fle Team to represent the United States lu tlie 
International Long Kange Kille Match for tiie (Jhanipionsiiip of tlie World, anil iarcby agree to 
contorm to the conditions proscribed for the selection of said team. If I am a sncce-ssful com- 
petitor I agree to periorm sucii practice and to submit to such diseipliae and govermneut as the 
captam of said team shall direct. — : 

Entries may be made at any time up to 10 o'clock a. m. of May 31, 1876. Per- 
sons desiring to enter arc requested to inform the Secretary of the Joint Committee, 



59 

by letter, at as early a day as possible. All countries having rifle clubs or rifle 
associations have been invited to send one team each to compete in this match. 
Many countries have already signified their intention to be represent. We believe 
that the people of our whole country entertain the earnest hope that in this great 
match the American riflemen will fully sustain the high reputation for skill in marks- 
manship which their countrymen have earned in many noted and well-contested 
matches. It is very desirable that there should be a large number of entries for the 
foregoing competitions. The conditions have been made with a view to accommo- 
date, as much as possible, those living far away from Creedmoor Range. It is con- 
fidently hoped that distance will not deter any man from joining the ranks of the 
competitors and striving for a place on the Centennial American team. 

By order of the Committee, 

MARTIN T. McMAHON, President. 

Joseph Holland, Secretary. 

Thirty-nine entries appeared the first day, and the competition ran close and keen. 
The result of the first competition made it manifest that some changes in the original 
conditions would be necessary, and before the commencement of the second compe- 
tition it had been decided to admit twentj^-four instead of sixteen to it, and at a sub- 
sequent meeting of tlie Joint Committee the following resolution was adopted, viz : 
"Resolved, That in pursuance of the almost unanimously expressed desire of the 
sixteen successful competitors, the terms for Competition III. be modified so that 
the twelve highest aggregate scores of said competitors and Competition II. shall 
only determine the twelve who shall constitute the team and reserve ; the particular 
eight who are to be the team, and the four for reserve, to be hereafter determined at 
such time and in such manner as the action of a majority of the twelve selected as 
above and the captain they elect shall decide upon." 

Permission was also given to choose the captain either from within or without the 
team, as suited the shooters. The twelve, as selected by these competitions, were : 
Messrs. F. Hyde, Thomas S. Dakin, W. B. Farwell, G. W. Yale, L. Weber, A. 
Anderson, C. E. Overbaugh, L. C. Bruce, Henry Fulton, J. A. Shaffer, H. S. 
Jewell, and N. Washburn. 

Subsequently, in view of excellent practice by those gentlemen, it was resolved to 
admit Messrs. R. Rathbone, I. L. Allen and C. E. Blydenburgh, Jr., to places on the 
reserve ; and finally, after no small amount of delay. Major Fulton was chosen as cap- 
tain and Messrs. Dakin, Farwell, Weber, Fulton, Rathbone, Allen, Bruce and Yale 
were chosen as the team. But, at their practice on September 9th, the scores were 
not at all satisfactory, and with the intention of strengthening the team, Messrs. 
Bruce and Yale resigned in favor of Gildersleeve and Bodine, old and tried team men, 
but who were at that time somewhat out of form. But in the practice preceding the 
great match, shooting side by side with the other team, the Americans had never yet 
been able to show first place, and it was felt on all sides that the team was badly 
managed and did not have that strength which the Association could furnish ; hence 
the substitution of the two new men. 

The Americans had not shown their usual style of making a rattling big score just 
before the match, but, instead, the team were restless, and did not seem to be as 
compact a body as would have been desirable. 

Of the foreign rifle teams the first to arrive was the New South Wales contingent 
of the Australian Team, who came ma San Francisco, arrived Friday, August 11th. 
The party consisted of Captain, J. McGarvie Smith, Lieutenant J. H. Maddocks, 
Mr. J. S. Lynch, Mr. J. J. Slade and S2rgeant-Major D. Gee. 

The Victorian contingent of the Australian Team, who came via England, arrived 
on Wednesday, August 23d, their party consisting of Major J. T. Sleep, Captain A. 
M. Greenfield, Captain H. J. King, Captain B. J. Wardill, Lieutenant T. T. Draper 
and Captain A. Blannin, Honorable Secretary Victorian Rifle Association. 

On Tuesday, August 29th, the Scotch Team and party arrived. Their names were 
Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. A. Macdonald, Captain of Team, and Messrs. M. Boyd, W. 



60 

Clark, D. Fraser, R. Luke, Dr. J. Mitchell, R. McVittie, A. Menzies, P. Rae, W. 
Thorbiirn, Thomas Whitelaw, William Paton, C. Ingram, rifle maker ; J. Hodgert 
and K. Renton, Secretary Scottish Rifle Club. 

The next to arrive was the Irish party, on Sunday, September 3d, consisting of 
Major Arthur B. Leech, Captain of Team ; Mr. and Mrs. Greenhill, Mr. and Mrs. 
Thynne, Mr. and Mrs. Goff, Lieutenant and Mrs. A. Ward, Messrs. William Riyby, 
E. Johnson, J. K. Milner, W. R. Joynt, H. Dyas, J. G. Pollock and Lieutenant 
George Fenton. 

The last of the foreign teams to arrive were the Canadians, Major J. E. O'Rielly, 
Captain of Team, Captain J. J. Mason, A. Bell, George Murison, Captain J. Adam, 
Major J. M. Gibson, George Disher, William Cruit, Major W. H Cotton and 3Ir. 
Wm. M. Cooper, Vice-President Any-Rifle Association of Toronto, who arrived early 
on the morniog of Friday, September 8th. 

All of the foreign teams except the Irish (who went into quarters at Garden City, 
Long Island, immediately upon their arrival) selected headquarters in New York 
City, and all spent as much time in practice at Creedmoor as was possible. 

A programme of reception and entertainment had been prepared which kept the 
visitors pretty busy in visits and excursions here and there about the city. Yet 
abundant time was given for practice on the range, and none of the visiting riflemen 
could properly complain of any shortness of allowance in that direction. The people 
at large took the greatest interest in the doings, and everywhere an eifort was made 
to make their visit an enjoyable one. The papers were full in their reports of the 
movements of the team men, and it is no doubt largely due to the efforts of the press 
that the change in the personnel of the American Team was made, turning probable 
defeat into magnificent victory. It was an enforced compliment to the foreign rifle- 
men, as their fine shooting exhibits alone compelled the substitution. 



FIRST DAY. 

The first day of the great double-day match came on bright and clear. The men 
started in earnest all along the line, and, under the pressure of competition, mag- 
nificent scores were rolled up. The neighborhood of Creedmoor seemed to have 
taken on a holiday trim, and reminded a visitor of some great State Fair, with out- 
side booths and temporary structures of all sorts and styles lining the road along 
either side to the centre of all the confusion and excitement — the long-range firing 
points. Within the grounds the crowd, which at its highest reached some 8,000, were 
scattered over the ninety acres of lawn. Every nook and corner had its group of 
visitors bent on seeing all there was to be seen .of the range. Down to the short- 
range targets, over to the running deer, along the line of regimental tents, into the 
headquarters and administration tents, everywhere and indiscriminately, the curious 
throng poked its investigating nose. The only portion of the great, flat meadow 
untenanted by strolling spectators was the track along which the whizzing bul- 
lets sped on their way from rifle to target, and a dozen or more police found ample 
work in warning the reckless or careless from tramping over even this reserved space. 

At the 800-yard firing points, stretching along a line of between three huud!ed and 
four hundred feet, were all the paraphernalia pertaining to the conduct of a rifle 
match. Camp-stools in abundance, tripods holding on their pegs miniature targets, 
telescopes, to the number ot a hundred or more, firmly set here and there along the 
line, ready with keen eyes behind them to give sight of the destination of each and 
every missile sent on its peaceful errand to the iron slab a half mile or more away. 
There were rude, temporary tables or stands, upon which the marksmen might lay out 
their cartridge boxes, wads, bullets, caps, cleaning rags, etc., while about the edges 
of the table notches were cut in which to safely lean the rifle. At each of the t^mall 
stakes denoting the firing point of either of the several tai-gets, a lai-ge open sided 



61 

shade had been provided. These shades were nothing more or less than canvas 
spreads about twelve feet square, upheld at either corner by a pole some seven feet 
long, while cords attached to tent pegs made all secure and stable. Beneath these 
most excellent devices the marksmen found a comparatively cool retreat from the fiot 
glare of the sun in the middle of the day. About twenty feet back of these tent- 
flies a rope stretched along prevented the crowding up of the invited guests, while 
yet another rope at a further distance prevented the unduly familiar approach of the 
general crowd. Five poles held aloft, in full view of the majority of the visitors, 
large sheets, upon which were entered the names and full scores of the various 
teams. The work of bulletining the scores was attended to by a score of young mi- 
litia men. 

An early meeting of the team captains had been held to arrange the few prelim- 
inaries of the coatest. Colonel Mac Donald, of the Scotch,team ; Major Leech, of the 
Irish; Major Fulton, of the Americans ; Major O'Reilly, of the Canadian, and Au- 
gustus Morris, of the Australians, attended. General Shaler and Colonel Mitchell 
were chosen referees, and they in turn fixed upon General Joseph R. Hawley as the 
umpire, to whose final decision all matters were to be left in case of any dispute. 
Another duty of the captains was to draw for targets. There were on the range in 
working trim eleven long-range targets. These were distinguished one from another 
by great letters above them, the letters being formed by placing fence-rails or plank 
painted white upon the sloping bank above and behind the target. Off to the ex- 
treme left was target H. unoccupied ; then in order targets K. , W. , A. , X. , I. , II. , 
III., IV., v., VI. — in all ten targets set apart for the contestants. These were 
drawn for in couples by the captains, the disposition being as follows : 

K. & W. A. & X. I. & II. III. & IV, V. & VI. 

Americans. Canadians. Irisii. Australians. Scotch. 

The marksmen on the flank-targets are apt to be bothered by the pressing in of 
the spectators, and the targets V. and VI. have always been looked upon by old 
Creedmoor hands as the most desirable, since on them the danger of shooting on the 
wrong target is very much lessened, it being comparatively easy to fix upon the last 
target, and fire at it in sighting. Along to the left, where the Americans were squad- 
ed, the raising of the firing points within the last ,few weeks, had left a dry dead 
sod, not as pleasant as the grass bottom of the other points. 

By 9.30 o'clock the marksmen began to appear on the ground. As they crossed 
the ferry and railroaded down many an anxious glance was cast up along the sky, 
whose dull, leaden look gave promise of a quiet, hot day when the sun came out 
through the cloud-drifts. It was an "American day," all agreed, and the Scotsmen 
grumbled with more than usual zest at the ill-luck which had robbed them of the 
blustering day they had prayed for. The faint brush of wind on the river was 
lost as the train turned inland, and at 9:30, when the Australians, Scots and Ca- 
nadians came upon the field, there was absolutely not a breath of air stirring. 
There were flags from end to end of the range of all sorts, sizes and material, but 
each and every one hung close and dead to its respective pole. By 10:30 the sun 
had sent out its rays, making the range uncomfortably hot. With the sun came the 
wind, and the dial-pointer moved lazily over the face, getting round to 11, and 
waiting in an undecided sort of way for something to give it life and motion. The 
riflemen were now busy getting out their traps. They began to load, only, however, 
to blow their charges in the ground. The danger flags before the target faces were 
drawn in, showing all in readiness down there for the reception of shots ; still the 
riflemen kept banging away at the sod, playing havoc with the ground-bugs and 
creeping things of earth, and provoking wonder in the minds of inexperienced look- 
ers-on as to what all this apparent waste of powder meant. Quarter to eleven came, 
and the men were still busy warmin;^ up their rifles with pit-shots, seeming by their 
noise and preparation to summon up the wind, which blew fresher and fresher, but 



62 

not at any time getting more than a gentle breeze. As the moment for opening 
came on the preparations were hurried. At each firing point an official scorer was 
stationed, experienced men who could be relied on, with good glasses, through 
which they could at once distinguish the colors of the marking discs. In the butts 
were other trusted experts, whose derision on the matter of line shots could be de- 
pended on more implicitly than the slouchy and careless markings of the country 
lads who officiate as disc-handlers. The right of stationing markers and scorers 
at targets and firing points respectively was extended to the other team captains, the 
only one accepting the right being Captain MacDonald, of the Scots, who detailed R. 
Luke to American target W, and Alexander Fyle with Captain Ross to target K., 
also of the Americans; other trusted " brither Scots" going down into the pits before 
the American targets. None of the other team captains availed themselves of the 
precautionary right, nor did Captain MacDonald think it necessary to watch any but 
his host's targets. There were to be no Yankee tricks without his knowledge. 

About 10:45 the managing director of the day galloped up and down the line of 
fire, requesting each squad to open fire directly he should blow a whistle, after the 
firing of the opening cannon. There was many a glance at the wind, now showing 
a disposition to waver. The men lay down, got up, punched little depressions in the 
sod with their heels in which to rest elbows when firing, took imaginary sighting 
shots with empty barrel and cap, grumbled at the rapidly increasing mirage, and 
waited the cannon boom. At 10:55 it sounded, and then the whistle piped all down 
to work, but each squad waited for the other, to watch the first shot and take the 
cue therefrom. The Scots were nothing if not cautious. Captain MacDonald strid- 
ing out and looking down the line to see who were to show lead. At last, after 
three or four minutes had elapsed, a crack from a middle firing point and the spring 
up of the trap-disk on target X told that one of the Canadians had led oQ, a white 
disc slipping up telling the tale of Cruit's opening shot. " Bu-u-uU's-eye," mur- 
mured a thousand lips, as the great concourse caught the signal. Quickly after 
Cruit's came a bull's-eye for Gee, of the Australians, on target IV. Goff, the first 
of the Irish squad to fire, scor(^d an inner, Whitelaw, the leading Scotchman, getting 
a bull's-eye. It was some time before the Americans began their music, acting in a 
timorous, inexperienced manner, not at all in the style of old riflemen. There 
seemed to be no end of confab an*d consultation ere Fulton twisted himself up, pulled 
back the hammer of his lifle, and then everybody applied his eye to a glass and 
waited, and waited, and waited, until, tired of waiting, they ventured to look around 
and found Fulton sitting cross-legii;ed like a Turk, apparently looking down the 
muzzle of his rifle, but really fixing his wind-gauge ; then, when the shot is actually 
off, it is seen that the'opening shot of the American squad is a centre. Bodme, on 
the same target, followed with another centre, then Gildersleeve so far forgot him- 
self as to open with an " inner," Rathbone following suit with another centre. Am- 
erican stock was falling ; but on the other American target, Dakin, Farwell, Weber 
and Allen had opened with a bull's-eye apiece. 

After that the fusillade was general and more or less rapid. By 12 o'clock the fir- 
ing had reached the tenth shot, the wind having veered about to the ninth quarter, 
and throughout the range the wind, wMiat there was of it, came from the left-front 
quarter in rather a fish-taily style. Fulton in his second shot got a miss, a clean 
jump over the target. He got up without anexpressioa of disappointment, and not 
a member or the squad expressed surprise, though the news ran like wildfire down 
the hne, and was commmted on and chatted of by the crowd. The catch was a 
severe one, but thesu<l(len twist of wind which lilted the bullet over had been dis- 
covered, and the other men profited by the mi.^hap. It was the only miss on the 
American targets on that range. Draper, of the Australians, opened with one, and 
one by Disher, of the Canadians, near the end of his 800 yards string, were the only 
losses from the target-face during that range ; GOO shots and but three misses told in 



63 

brief the story of the excellent shooting done. Outers were almost as rare, and the 
shooting on the whole was superb. 

The squading of the men and their order of shooting were as foHows : 

On target K Fultoij led, followed by Bodine, Gildersleeve and Rathbone. On 
target W, the order was Dakin, Farwell, Weber and Allen. On target A of the 
Canadians, the firing was in order by Mason, Gibson, Cotton and Disher. Target X, 
Cruit, Bell, Adam and Murison as marksmen. On the first Irish target the shooters 
were Rigby, Johnson, Joynt and Dyas. On target II, also Irish, Ward, Fenton, Goff 
and Milner shot. At target III, set apart for the Australians, Lynch, Draper, Sleep 
and Slade shot in order. On the adjoining target Gee, King, Wardill and Smith 
fehot. The first Scottish target, V, had Boyd, Rae, Thorburn and Clark as shooters; 
and on the extreme target to the right, Whitelaw, McVittie, Fraser and Mitchell were 
shooting. Such was the order of work throughout the day on the part of the men. 

The Australians were the first to finish their work at the first range, closing with 
531 points ; next the Irish stopped with 535 points ; the Canadians a moment later 
with 521 points; the Americans and Scotch shooting slowly and getting 550 and 535 
respectively. The great score of the Americans and the lead obtained created some 
surprise, but at this early stage of the match experienced observers did not attach 
much importance to it. It was now 1 o'clock, and with the breaking up of the firing 
line a rush was made for the eating booths. The teams went each to its own tent, 
where a slight lunch was served without ceremony, and at 1:40 the cannon summoned 
all back to the opening of the 900-yard range, the wind having now shifted to the 
fifth and sixth quarters, and the sun, if anything, shining down more fiercely. 

There was less formality about getting to work here, fewer ground shots, and a 
readiness to open without reference to the acts of neighbors. The fight was 
getting down to dead earnest, the Americans going in to hold their lead and the 
Irish and Scotch to break it down. On the one side was work in quiet, orderly sys- 
tem ; in the home squad a multitude of counsellors, the only working assistant being 
Mr. Yale, who paraded behind the American target K, cufiing off strangers who saun- 
tered too close to the shooters' elbows with more vigor than grace, several times ac- 
tually seizing intruders by the coat-collar and marching them off. Meanwhile each 
of the Americans was surrounded by a posse of book-keepers, score-talliers, target- 
spotters, rag-holders, and general utility men in a bewildering crowd, and while 
other firing points were more or less clear, this was a scene of noise and confusion. 
The shooting at the 900-yard range was done at greater speed than the 800-yard 
work, and with inferior results, though not worse perhaps than the increased diffi- 
culty of the range would demand. 

There was no repetition of the brilliant score of fifteen consecutive bull's-eyes, as 
made by Johnson, of the Irish, at 800 yards, the highest total being McVittie, of the 
Scotch, seventy-one in the possible seventy-five. One miss in the Australian, four in 
the Canadian, three in the American, two in the Irish, and two in the Scotch tells 
in brief the s^ory of what was done at the 900 yards; twelve misses against three at 
800 shows that the wind was getting ugly, and such was the fact. It was not great 
in f(irce, but the charges were sudden and sweeping. 

One or two slight pauses for the close inspection by those at the butts wero made, 
but in other respects all went on smoothly, disc following shot with almost unbroken 
legularity, and at the close of firing, about 3 o'clock, a double-quick retreat to the 
1,000-yard points was made by the crowd. When the results were posted by dis- 
tances, the showing of 528 for the Irish against 518 for the Americans brought out a 
strong cheer from the throats of a company of Irish- Americans present, but the 
Americans still held the vantage ground, and their lead, though now small, was bet- 
ter than a stern chase ; they made but a straggling opening. The want of dis -i- 
pline was beginning to teU, and though the day was no more difficult than dozens of 
others upon which good scores have been made at these ranges by the American 



64 



team, over-anxiety and over-advice brought inners where bull's-eyes should have been, 
and to cap the climax Colonel Bodine actually threw in a bull's-eye on the 
wrong target, scoring a miss and creating great disgust. It was the only error of 
the sort noted on the range during the day, the error being dije to the fact that Colo- 
nel Bodine has but recently adopted the back position, and by obscuring the target 
laid himself open to just such mistakes. Gildersleeve put in a ricochet shot, as did 
Dr. Mitchell, of the Scotch ; otherwise the misses were sheer blunders of holding or 
calculation. 

With such fine scoring as Mitchell's seventy-three in seventy-five at 1,000 yards, 
and but two misses in the range, it did not take long to show that the Scots were 
leaving the Americans, where such a steady shot as Far well had two misses, Allen 
one and Gildersleeve and Bodine in the same mess. Fulton redeemed himself 
somewhat with 70. In the Irish squad four misses did great damage. But the Aus- 
tralians and Canadians, with six misses each, seemed striving for last place. 

The Australians were through first, the Scots and Irish, as victory seemed nearer 
and nearer to their grasp, working slower and slower, dragging their practice far out 
into the twilight, but holding well into the bull's-eye. The scores were quickly 
posted, the totals as quickly told, and then a shout louder than ever broke out, while 
Colonel MacDonald had hundreds of hands thrust at him for a congratulatory shake, 
the delighted old rifleman doing his best amid smiles to tell his well-wishers that the 
match was not over yet. The American team looked on without much concern. 
Colonel Bodine smiled passively, and remarked that in his opinion the match was yet 
to come off, and cast his eye skyward to form a prognostication of the morrow's 
weather, and in half an hour the thousands had scattered homeward. 

The detailed score of the first day of the match stood as follows : 



SCOTCH TEAM. 



Yards. 

800.. 

900.. 
1,000... 



E. McVittie, Ingram Rifle. 

Score. Totals 

55553555 5 55 5.. ..71 



800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 



,5 4 4 

.5 4 5 

.3 5 5 

Win. 

.5 5 2 
.5 4 5 



5 5555445.') 55 4. ...71 
335454565 5 5 5. ...67— 209 

ThorbufD, Metford Rifle. 
552 5 5534554 5. ...65 
45544555554 5....70 



.4 45 2 45545455555... 67—202 
Dr. J. Mitchell, Metford Rifle. 

.3 545456553555 3 4. ...66 
,4 5445445505255 5. ...6-2 
.5 5553555555555 5.... 73— 201 

Wm. Clark, Henry Rifle. 
.5 .=< 5 5 5 5 3 4 5 5 3 5 3 4 5. ...65 
.5 5 3 55554453554 5....6S 
555 3 3555534535 4....65-l!)S 



Peter Rae, Ingram Rifle. 
Yards. Score. Totals. 

800. ...5 5445544555555 5. ...71 
900.... 5 3 3 5 4 5 4 5 X 3 5 4 5 5 4.... 03 

1,000 5 4555523525335 5.. ..62— 196 

D. Fraser, Henry Rifle. 
800. ...3 5565354555445 4. ...67 
900. ...5 5 5 5556 5R5 3555 4....6T 
1,000.... 4 5553454554404 5.... 62— 196 

Thom 8 Whitelaw, Ingram Rifle. 
800.... 5 554445 3 425355 5.. ..64 
90»....5 2 3 5 4 5 4 5 5 5 4 5 5 4 4.... 65 
1,000.... 4 5355453653354 5.... 64— 193 
Martin Boyd, Ingram Kifle. 

800.. ..6 43454444455 5 5 5. ...66 
900.... 5 5 3 3 4 4 5 :i 3 5 4 4 4 6 5.... 62 
1,000. ...3 4555536506355 6. ...63— 191 



Team aggregate . 



IRISH TEAM. 



William Rigby, Rigby Rifle. 

Yards. Score. Totals. 

800. ...5 8544565535445 5. ...69 
900. ...4 3 555354556555 5., ..69 
1,000 ...3 5 5535546554645... 68—206 
Edmund Johnson— Rigby Rifle. 
800. ...6 5555555665555 5. ...75 
900. ...4 4535555»554354 .67 
1,000.... 5 54545546. ^ 4054 4.... 64- 206 
J. K. Milner- Rigby Rifle. 

4544 5 55554553.. ..67 
55556 5445656 5. ...66 
6555;- 5554555 5. ...71— 204 
George Fenton, Rigby Rifle. 

4 3 4 5 5 6 3 5 5 3 4 5 6.... 65 

5 5 6 4 6 4 5 4 4 5 6 5 4 66 

64664554 5 645 5.... 69— 200 



800. 

900. 

1,000. 



.3 5 

..0 3 

..2 5 

Lieut. 

800.... 5 4 

900. ...3 3 

1,000. ...3 6 



Yards. 
800.., 
900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

9'0.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

91)0.. 

1,000.. 



Lieut. 

.2535 
.3334 
.4363 

W. G. 

.4445 
.3554 
4 5 6 

Heory Dyas, Kigby Rifle. 

.4 6433555455464 5. 
.0 4 3 36655555655 5. 
.8 3435666 54654 6. 

W. R. Joyat, Rigby Rifle. 

..485536564443544. 
.4 3435554435 5 55 4. 
..4 0353465636356 4. 



A. Ward, Rigby Rifle. 

Score. 
3455364655 5.. 
6 4 5 6 5 5 3 5 5 5 6., 
5 5 5 5 4 5 3 4 4 5 5.. 
D. Gofif, Kigby Ritle. 

3 4 5 4 3 4 5 5 4 5 5. 
6456334345 4. 
63555556 5 4 6. 



1,586 



Totals^ 
.64 
.65 
.65-194 



.64 
.62 
.66—192 



.66 
.66 
.61—192 

.65 
.64 

.59—188 



Team aggregate 1,582 



65 



AMERICAN TEAM. 



Gen. T. S. Dakin, Remingtoa Rifle. 

Yards. Score. Totals. 

800. ...5 4355545455555 4. ...69 
900. ...5 344444555. S 555 4. ...65 

1,000. ...4 5455 3 45555555 4. ...69— 203 

L. Weber, Remicgton Creedmoer Rifle. 

800... 5 5434355555455 5.. ..68 
900 4 5445455555553 5. ...-€9 

1,000. . ..35445444544455 5.. . .65— 202 
Major Henry Fulton— Remington Rifle. 

800 4 0455545545555 5. ...66 

900.... 5 2545 5 45055554 5.. ..64 

-1,000.... 5 5545544555535 5.... 70— 200 

Ransom Rathbone, Remington Riflp. 
800... 4555 5 554355545 5.. .70 

900... 355 3 4554445455 5 66 

1,000.. ..3 5 3 45435454545 4 63—199 



Isaic L. Allen, Remington Rifle. 



Yards. 

800 5 5 5 

900. ...4 2 5 
5 4 

H. A. 



1,000... 
Col 

800... 

900... 
1.000... 



3 5 5 
5 5 4 
3 3 4 



Score. Totals. 

54545335554 5. ...68 
54555404455 f)....62 
55555545555 5 68 — 198 

Gildersleeve— Sharps Rifle. 

55453 5 555555. ...TO 
454465. S 5555 5... .69 
35555350455 0.... 55— 194 
B. Farwell, Remington Rifle. 

5554455555 5 70 

5544543545 4.. ..66 
5540534505 4.. ..56— 192 
Col Jobn Bodine, Rem. Creed. 
800.... 4 4345554555555 5.. ..69 
900.... 2 552553455544;-; 0....57 
1,010 3 5535545555504 4.. .6^-159 



Lieut.-Col. W 



800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 



.5534 
.5535 
.5335 



Team aggregate 1,5T7 



AUSTRALIAN TEAM. 



Yards. 

800... 

900... 
1,000... 

800... 

900... 

1,000... 

800... 

900,. , 

1,000... 

SOO... 

900... 

1,000... 



Captain H> J. King, Rigby Rifle. 

Score. 
..5 4555444 3 555555... 
,.4 5454455554445 5... 
..5 45554 5 5544 5 45 4..., 

Sergt. D. Gee, Rigby Rifle. 
,.5 5553553444354 5..., 

,.45544445555535 5 

..4 3455555355555 4,.., 

Maj. J. T. Sleep, Rigby Rifle. 

..4 3555545555555 3... 

..3 4555455534555 4... 

.6 3355355450554 4..., 

J. S. Lynch, Rigby Rifle. 

,.2 45534554"54545 5..., 
.5 3554455533455 3.... 
,.3 4533545455555 5..., 



Totals. 
69 
68 
69—206 



65 
68 
68—201 

69 
69 
61—199 



65 
64 
66—195 



J, J. Slade, Rigby Rifle. 

Yards. Score. 

800. ...5 4443554445444 4. ...63 
900....4 3 4 5 5 3 5 3 5 5 5 5 5 4 5. 66 

1.00J.-..4 5445545445543 3....C4- 

Captain B. J. Wardill, Rigby Rifle. 

800. ...4 5554554555545 6. ...71 

900 5 5432555 5 5 5055 5. ...64 

1,000... 3 2255044553545 4.. .56- 
Captain J. M'G. Smith, Rigby Rifle. 

800 4 554455554 5 5 55 3. ...69 

900. ...2 345545545455 5 5. ...66 

1,000.... 0323545454554 3.. ..52—187 
Lient. T. T. Draper, Rigby Bifle. 
800. ...0 5455355334445 5. ...60 
900 3 54552322455554. ...59 

1,000. ...0 3545354555340 3.. ..54— 173 



ratals. 



-193 



-191 



Team aggregate 1,545 



CANADIAN TEAM. ' 



Lient. J. Adam, Rigby Rifle. 

Yards. Score. 

SOO 2 55555 5 5355455 5.. 

90<}...,4 5544455524555 5.. 
1,000. ...5 5445553544552 5.. 



Totals. 
.69 
.67 
,.66—202 



A. Bell, Metford Rifle. 



800.... 5 4 3 5 

900 2 5 2 5 

1,000. ...5 5 5 4 
Captain J. 

800.... 8 4 4 3 

900. ...32 5 4 

1.000. ...5 5 4 5 



4353555544 5. ...65 

2 5 554455555 64 

5455535545 4.... 71— 200 

J. Mason, Metford Rifle. 

5 5 2 4 5 5 4 5 5 4 5.... 63 
5555544435 5.. ..64 
2544550555 5.... 64— 191 



Major J. M. Gibson, Metford Rifle. 

800. ...3 45354455455 3 5 4 64 

900. ...3 3544555534405 4. ...59 
1000. ...3 5353235455535 5. ...61— 184 



George Dieher, Metford Rifle. 

Yards. Score. 

800 .4 5543555554450 3... 

900, .. 55455345533523 0.. 

1,00J....0 55545 2 4544545 4... 

G. Marison, Metford Rifle. 

800. ...4 3354355555444 5... 

900 3 03434535553545... 

1,000.... 4 55445444533540.. 

William Cmit, Metford Rifle. 

800.... 5 5555443554445 4.. 
9-0. ...4 50344423554333. 
1,000. ...3 5332453555353 5. 



Totals. 
.62 

57 
.61-lSO 

.64 
.57 
.59—180 

67 
.52 

.59—178 



Maj. W. H. Cotton, Metford Rifle. 

800. ...4 3445544555554 5. ...67 
900.... 4 24245244435535. ..56 
1,000.... 2003554545554 5.... 52— 175 



Team aggregate 1,490 



800 yds. 

f SCOTLAND 5:^5 

IRELAND 535 

Summary..^ AMEHIC\ 5.50 

AUSTRALIA 531 

LCANADA 521 



900 yds. 


1,000 yds 


528 


523 


524 


523 


518 


509 


524 


490 


476 


493 



Total. 

1,586 

1.5S2 

1..577 

1.545 

1,490 



SECOND DAY. 
The second day of the struggle was set down by the weather clerk as a day of pos- 
sible cloud and rain, but the fulfilment was quite otherwise. There were clouds 
flitting across the sky obscuring for a moment tbe face of the sun, but of rain not a 
drop, and in many respects the two days over which the great match extended were 



w 

exact counterparts one of another. The only noticeable difference was in the greater 
force of wind, when at dusk on Wednesday evening the riflemen, mob, etc., rushed 
pell-mell from the grounds, the dial pointed a wind from the 5 o'clock quarter, and 
when about 9 o'clock yesterday morning the riflemen again put in an appearance the 
dial-pointer still stood at 5, but in place of flags hugging the poles, limp and clouty, 
every stitch of bunting on the range was flopping its best. The large tents were 
tugging at their fastenings, bits of paper and other litter of the field were blown about 
hither and thither. To the general public arranging itself behind* the ropes this 
breeze was very refreshing, and the idea of standing the day long under a flood of 
sun-light was shorn of some of its unpleasantness by the cool draughts of air. To 
the riflemen the wind told quite another tale. While they were nothing loath to be 
refreshed and enjoy all the benefits of a breezy day on the lawn, the idea of having a 
wind which might be as steady as a rock, or again might show the greatest unreliabilty 
and cause no end of vexation and possible defeat, was vexatious in the extreme. 
Glances at the flags and upon the dials somewhat reassured the marksmen, when the 
changes in direction were noted as very slight indeed. In this respect the day was 
unique. 

For an inland range to show so steady an average of wind was a thing to be noted, 
but what the wind lacked in variability of direction it made up in changes of force. 
Blowing from such a slanting direction, the retarding and varying action of the wind 
required counteraction, not only in the elevations of the rifles, but in the wind gauges 
as well. It was a practical application of the resolution of forces. What strength the 
wind had directed down the range required to be met by a lowering in the elevation, 
the wind doing the work of raising the buUet along to the target. What influence 
the wind had in causing the projectile to travel to the left required a change of the 
wind-gauges to throw the muzzle of the rifle to the right. This was the problem of 
the day to the experts, and the Americans showed themselves the best able to master 
the diflQculties of the situation, and won the match accordingly. 

The mirage had disppaeared in great measure, but in its stead came a curious 
shifting light. Again and again dUring the day the targets might be noticed in shade, 
while the marksmen lay in the broad sun-light, and then, as the cloud-shade travelled 
down the range and was succeeded by another, the relative positions of shade and 
light changed. These changes are noted by the cautious riflemen and allowance 
made for the disturbing causes. It was a day of which an hundred duplicates might 
be recalled by an old Creedmoor hand, and to the Scotch riflemen, who had been 
praying for wind against the dull, sluggish motion of the air on tbe previous day, it 
seemed a special dispensation in their favor. Yet the American riflemen smiled in a 
self-satisfied sort of way as they looked at the wind and its direction, and thought of 
the havoc it would cause among the foreign scores should it take a notion to play the 
pendulum about the 6 o'clock point and give them a genuine " fish-tailer." But the 
day was merciful, and a variation of half a point from 5 was rarely seen. 

The confidence with which the home squad left the field on the evening previous 
had not left them, and not one of the American sharpshooters allowed himself to be 
flustered in the least at the prospect of the lead which the Scots held. " I guess we'll 
win yet" was as far as they ventured to assert, in marked distinction to the boasting 
of the then leading team, who came up smiling, making no bones of telhng all who 
cared to ask, that the match was theirs and that they meant to devote their efforts to 
increasing the gap between themselves and the following teams. The thought of a 
success resting in other hands and the wreaths of victory restmg on other heads did 
not seem to enter their minds. Among the other teams the Canadians were rather 
reserved, satisfied apparently to take whatever Providence might send them. The 
Australians thought it only fair that the gap between themselves and their leader 
should be narrowed. 

Certain of the foreign captains thought it proper to ask on this second day of the 



67 

match for a new apportionment of targets. The Americans made no objection and 
agreed to the suggestion of the visitors, that if any dijfference existed in the shooting 
points that all should have the opportunity of discovering the best. The draw was 
made, and counting accross the field from left to right the new arrangement stood : 



Targets. 


K&W. 


A&X. 


I&II. 


Ill & IV. 


V&VI. 


1st day. 


Americans. 


Canadians. 


Irish. 


Australians. 


Scotch. 


2cl day. 


Irish. 


Australians. 


Scotch. 


Canadians. 


Americans. 



Ttie new deal oddly enough satisfied the majority of the squads. The Scots had 
grumbled on the first day that they were compelled to have the smoke from the 
other points blowing to their flank, and wished that some other team had been al- 
lowed to enjoy this slight inconvenience. The Irish were glad to get an end on the 
line. The Americans were glad to get back to the old right line targets, on which 
the bulk of the long-range practice is carried on, and where the day before the Scotch 
had shown themselves able to cope successfully with them. 

This change of targets was the first blunder of Capt. MacDonald. He no doubt 
thought he was domg a very wise thing, but when the American squad heard that 
the extreme right targets had fallen to them, they felt like turning double somer- 
saults of joy, and hope and confidence rose ever so many degree3 in their bosoms. 
They said nothing, but went quietly over to the firing points, from which, looking 
down the line of flag staffs, they were able to take in the least variation in the wind, 
while the other team men, looking at the flags at a wide angle, could not detect these 
fine fluctuations. It was the over cautious Scotties who insisted on the change of 
targets, little knowing that at the time they were killing their chances of victory. 

The marksmen were more prompt than on the first day, the spectators, too, filling 
up the front line even before a shot had been fired. There was not a tithe of the 
ground-blowing or gun-warming of the first day ; the men shook down to their work 
v,rithout any extra ceremony. The first cannon sounded at 10:45, and at 11 o'clock 
sharp the second sounded a start. At this time all the teams were in position, except- 
ing the Irish, who were a bit late, but soon caught up with the other team-men. The 
Canadians, as on the first day, were the first to lead off. Cruit getting in place of 
his opening centre of the first day an initial inner. On the Scotch target Whitelaw 
opened the sport, getting a centre. Gee, of the Australians, bringing in the only open- 
ing bull's-eye. Fulton, the first of the Americans to shoot, got an inner, whereon 
the group of sympathizers behind the rope uttered a general commiserating " Oh !" 
The order of shooting in the several squads was the same as on the first day, the 
same leaders and end men going regularly through the practice. There was the 
greatest smoothness of action all along the line at the firing points, but at the targets 
the spotters in the butts seemed over critical, and again and again came out to nar- 
rowly inspect the target faces. The practice was in cases of this sort, where the 
men were compelled to come from the shelter of the pits, to stop firing on two targets 
to either side the target in question, and every little while— altogether too frequently 
for the convenience and satisfaction of the shooting parties — the figures would emerge 
from the butts and galher in provoking leisure before one of the targets and proceed 
to hold a leng hened argument over one or another shot. A hit on the line plump 
wou'd be scrutinized with the greatest exactitude. In the midst of the 800 yards' 
firing the meeting was held before target VI., where a high shot by Major Fulton 
defied all the markers to say whether it was a centre or outer. One of the assistants 
of the executive officer was sent down on horseback to settle the matter, but after 
hearing all the arguments he came back undecided. General Hawley mounted and 
galloped down the lange at full speed to settle the matter at once as umpire < f the 
match. He decided "centre," but the time spent in examination had been so long 
that 9, new blowing out of guns was necessary. 

The Scotch went to work carefully, bating not a whit of care because of the slight 
lead they were enjoying from the work of the day before, but two misses at this 



68 

range told of the over care they were taking, and each of these slips were no dcubt 
"pull offs." Fraser, the "reserve man " of the squad, took the lead now, but the 
slip to centres, where otherwise bull's-eyes would have been made, told that a high 
score need not be looked for. Of outers there was but a single instance. On the 
Irish targets not a miss was recorded, but bull's-eyes were almost as scarce, Rigby 
putting in his fifteen shots with but six of them bull's-eyes, and Goff throwing a 
damper over his fellows by firing ten shots ere he found the buirs-:ye. On the 
opening round six of the eight shots were inners. The Canadians fired in a very 
promiscuous style, and, though having but one down-right miss, the number of 
straying shots was very large, Disher getting but two bull's-eyes in his fifteen shots. 
The Americans made the greatest number of misses of any one team, as many 
among themselves as all the other teams put together. The shots passed over or fell 
plainly below the target, the men over-striving or failing to meet the down draft of 
the 5 o'clock wind. Allen with an outer and two misses got 60 points. His opening 
miss had no small effect in an underrating by the other teams of the American effort, 
while at the same time it reminded the Americans themselves that only the closest at- 
tention to their work would carry them through the day. When Dakin followed with 
amiss in his third round, this fact became the more apparent. Lynch, of the Aus- 
tralians, threw away one shot by a slip in holding, Slade and Gee dong the honors of 
the party in passing the seventy point. In two of the rounds bull's-eyes m every 
case were the order. The Australians were evidently making a struggle for place in 
the field, having long despaired of, if they had ever seriously entertained, any 
notion of carrying off the trophy. The finish of the 800 yards' stage was reached 
about 12:45 o'clock, and all retired to wonder at the luck which kept the Scotch and 
American tie at 800 yards, and consequently in the precise relation to each 
other as on the evening before ; and also to wonder at the ill-luck of the Irish rifle- 
men throwing them back nearly to the level of the Australians, who, in turn, were 
encouraged to think that by a little extra effort they might yet get the second place 
they so much coveted. But while the American shooters and the most experienced 
of their friends kept up the same placid smile, and bade any anxious questioners be 
quiet and await the end, none were expecting the sudden revulsion and re-arrange- 
ment of the team fortunes so soon to come about. 

The hard work and drudgery of the match had been passed, and now the dramatic 
effect was about to begin. The transformation scene was at hand, showing a smil- 
ing Jonathan, a decidedly crumpled and bewildered Sandy, and the ever-jubilant 
Hibernian. Pending the scene-shifting a very short lunch was taken, and at 1:15 
the second cannon called all back to the firing point for the last grand struggle. The 
wind held its own, still blowing from the fifth quarter, but the sun was shining 
brighter, no doubt dazzling the Scotch lads greatly with their unprotected Goodwin 
bar front sights. Their opening was bad — the very poorest on the field —Mitchell 
getting a miss, and the whole squad but 24 in the possible 40, while the Americans, 
with 33 points, suddenly found themselves abreast of their most formidable op- 
ponents. The knowledge of this fact broke the spirit of the Scotch team as suddenly 
and as certainly as it braced up the Americans to a struggle to hold their ground. 
Not a single perfect round was shown at this range ; but the Scotchmen from the 
first found themselves retrograding rapidly to last place. In his third shot Mitchell 
missed again. The team tried its favorite plan of recuperation by firing s'owly, but 
it was of no avail ; the tide had set against them, and unable to stem the current, 
they were borne away from bad to worse. Later on in his score Dr. Mitchell com- 
mitted the fatal error of shooting on the wrong target, putting in a shot on III., 
which the Canadians had been ushig, but wliich for ten minutes or more before Imd 
had no shots thrown upon it. This was the last straw on the camel's back. For a 
front-lying rifleman, and a Scotch rifieman at that, to shot)t on the wrong target was 
beyond precedent, and the thought of it took all spirit from the Scotchmen, Captain 



GO 

Thorburn so far forgetting himself as to close with a miss. The Canadians had been 
jogging on in quiet mediocrity, the Scots were going down hill fast, while the 
Americans, Irish, and Australians were fighting hard for the fore. The announce- 
ment of the result was generally discredited ; to make a gross majority of fifty-three 
points in one range was too good or too bad, as viewed from American or Scotch 
stand-points, to be true. But the figures were correct — from being 9 behind, the 
Home team were now 44 points ahead. The fc^cotch had lost their team system, and 
instead of the solid bunch of united strength were now a few separated fagots, while 
the Americans, v/ho for a day and a third, had fired in a perfunctory sort of way, 
each man with his own scorer, with a general coach, and providence overlooking 
their work, were alarmed at the staring prospect of defeat unless they bestirred 
themselves, and for the first time in the year some approach to the old-time Ameri- 
can team shooting was seen. The one team had lost the key of success, the other 
had recovered it. 

The general public accepted the conclusion at once that the Americans were the 
victors, but there was a range yet to be fought over, and none know better than old 
riflemen how easily a roll of misses can reverse a majority. Col. MacDonald spent 
no more time in little trips striding up and down the line of fire, but clung to his 
men, and with troubled face did his best to stem the tide of defeat ; but it seemed 
hopeless to strive against the compact body the American team had suddenly made 
of itself. Nothing succeeds like success, and nothing collects a lead so well as an 
excellent start. The Americans showed a clean pair of heels to their guests, whose 
previous majority had been swept away like thistle-down until at the end of the 
1,000-yard range and the match the Yankees led the Scots by full 64 points. The 
Americans had fully mastered the wind, and though the crowd cheered each shot 
and each rising white disc the men rolled up the same range total as on the preced- 
ing daj'-, when all was calm. 

To the Irish belong the glory of this final range. By a grand concluding spurt 
they sprang to second place, the brilliant feat being that of Milner. "Unlucky" 
Milner no longer, but now the "plucky" Milner, the favorite of the crowd, and the 
envy of his brother riflemen, with a perfect score at 1,000 yards — 15 bulls in fifteen 
shots. No Irishman or other man could do more. Five hundred and thirty-five 
as a range total at 1,000 yards was unexceptionable, and to the Irish riflemen 
must be accorded the honor of the most difficult feat. Two perfect scores had 
been theirs as individuals, and in their 1,000-yard shooting their average is above all 
the other teams. 

The match ended about 6 o'clock, the Scots dragging out their misery to the ut- 
most ; but fortune had deserted them, and despite Boyd's 71 at the longer range, they 
had been fairly and finally outshot. 

A few moments for footing up the result and it was formally announced : America, 
3,126; Ireland, 3,104; Scotland, 3,063; Australia, 3,063, and Canada, 2,923. Tlicn 
broke out the cheers, the multitude crowding up and yelling with a unanimity and 
vigor calculated to rouse the blood of the most apathetic observer. Hats were 
waved, cheers were given wildly for everybody and anybody on general principles, 
and then all set off for the American team tent, a short distance from the gate, where 
under the Stars and Stripes, waving before the tent door, the American team were 
shouted for, and finally, mounting a table in full view of the multitude, were shouted 
at until the speech making began. Major Fulton said on behalf of his fellows thit 
though the American team had won this match, they had not been permitted to do 
so without the most strenuous endeavor and by making the best average shooting 
ever known. 

Major Leech was up at once, and assured the hearers that it had been the greatest 
rifle match yet fought, and the only error he could perceive was that the Irish did not 
occupy first place. He desired to thank all for their courtesy ; the officers and mana- 



70 

gers for their admirable control ; the police, whose services had been unnecessary, 
for their good nature — big policemen are always so. [Laughter.] He was reminded 
to say a few words of Colonel MacDonald and his bravre Scotch laddies, and for him- 
self and his friend he could say that everythiDg had been satisfactory. Colonel 
MacDonald, after the cheering had stopped, said: •'! wanted to be first. I wanted 
tbe Irish to be second. I have only gotten half my wish, and the worst half, too. 
[Laughter]. I can only say that the exhibition of the scores will justify us in com- 
ing here, but one of those extraordinary breaks which will occur in rifle shooting 
have given the final victory to another. I can say that we have put on record the 
largest score ever made in a single day of forty-five shots per man, and although we 
are not successful in taking off the trophy and wresting it from our American 
friends, we can at least cheer them ; and now a hearty " three," and it was given, the 
herculean Scotch captain waving his bonnet high in air as he led the cheers. 

Mr. Morris, for the Australians, protested against being considered a foreigner, 
and expressed his thanks for courtesies shown. 

Major O'Reilly, for the Canadians, said that as his team had scored the lowest it 
should say the least, and he sat down with thanks. Major Leech was up with a cry 
for all Irishmen to join ia three cheers for the Americans. They were given, but 
the Major wanted full honor and shouted, "Haven't ye met the tiger ; give it !" and 
a hearty t-i-g-e-r rolled out. Then there were shouts for Milner, and he was hoisted 
upon the table platform. "I'd like to tell ye," said he, "the way I made that big 
score;" [Cheers] " but I can't" [laughter], and the tooting of the railroad whistle 
called all off to a ride to the city, and fifteen or twenty thousand people were bowled 
into town at all hours of the night as the railroad could accommodate them. 

Compared with previous competitions of a similar sort, the match lacked not a 
single item of interest or importance. There was the same glorious days of balmy 
summer weather as favored the previous matches at Dollymount and Creedmoor, a 
trifle hot perhaps, but just the sort of a day to draw out a gr^at company of picnic- 
kers and excursionists. There was no walk-over for any of the team-men, and up to 
the firing and signaling of the final shot it would have been an open question as to 
the possible victory of any of the teams. There were plenty present to express their 
confidence in this or that squad ; but, looked at from a technical point of view and 
on the record of the teams alone, it would have required a nice discrimination to 
point the difference between the three leading teams. Really the match was but a 
pair of practice days before the targets, with perhaps exciting and disturbing causes 
in the crowds present and the knowledge that the last day's results were final and con- 
clusive. The pressure was no small thing to be placed upon a marksman, and the strain 
upon the nerves in fighting throagh a two days' bout was something of which the in- 
experienced can form but a little idea. Where the variation of a hundredth of an 
inch measures the difference between victory and defeat it needs nerves of no com- 
mon tension and training to hold true and unwavering when the shouts of thousands 
follow each and every shot. Besides being the perfectly tempered machine which 
every successful rifleman must be, he must be thoroughly posted as well not only on 
a thousand minor details which any person can master, but must possess in addition 
an experience which will enable him to read the wind at any moment without break 
or blunder. All these qualifications did the majority of the experts possess who for 
two days held the attention of the country, besides calling out a vast amount of in- 
terest in other lands from which delegations and teams have been sent. 

Far the third time^ too, when pitted against the picked shots of Great Britain in 
international contest, the American riflemen have proved their ability to more than 
cope with their rivals, and the dramatic close of the two-day match at Creedmoor in 
the presence of a great crowd gave opportunity for another scream to the American 
bird. Right heartily did the Americans there assembled yell and cheer in enthusi- 
astic delight at the termination of the battle with the laurels on their side. 



71 



One must hear thousands of people brim full of enthusiasm cheer with all their 
might, and one must see them hug one another and throw up their hats before lie 
can form any conception of the scene which followed the announcement of the vic- 
tory of the American leam. Lines were broken down, and the people invaded the 
places that all day had been occupied only by the teams. The victors were cheered 
again and again, as were also the gentlemen of the other teams. Gen. Woodward, 
as executive officer, announced to the teams that their presence was requested at 
the American tent tohear the official announcement of the score ; of course resulting 
in a jam at the tent. A space about twenty feet square was cleared at the entrance, 
and in the centre a platform was hastily formed of boards. Here the people ruled 
absolutely. Their first whim was to have all the members of the American team 
mount the platfoim, and they clamored until their wish was gratified and they had 
cheered the victors to their hearts' content. 

The full scores of the second day of the match stood : 

AMERICAN TEAM. 



Ransom Rathbone, Remington Creedmoor Rifle. 

Tarda. Score. Totals. 

800. ...6 4555533555555 0....65 
900. ...5 5545 5 4545 5 555 5. ...72 

lyO00....3 5445554535445 5.... 66— 203 

I ol. H. A. Gilder=>leeve, Sharps Creed. Rifle. 
Sno ...5 5 5 4 4 4 5 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 4.... 68 
900.. ..4 5 424454535445 3. ...61 
1,000.... 4 5355555555455 5.... 71— 200 

Col. John Bodine, Remington Creedmoor Rifle. 
800. ...4 544345545 5 544 4. ...65 
900. ...3 5455555455355 5. ...69 

1,000. ...2 5535555354505 5.... 62— 196 
Lieut.-Col. W. B. Farwell, Remington. 
800. ...4 5455335545555 5... 68 
9U0....4 4530534455525 5... 59 

1,000. ...4 4455554444555 5.. ..68— 195 



Lawrence Weber, Remington Creedmoor Rifle. 

Yards. Score. Totals. 

800 ...4 5 2 5 5 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 5 5....67 
900. ...3 5555454 R4 5535 4. ...61 

1,000,... 4 5355535545335 5.... 65— 193 

Isaac L. Allen, Remington Creedmoor Rifle. 

800. ...0 235 5 555555550 5. ...60 
900..., 5 5535544255555 R... 63 

1,000 ...535*3555535355 5, ...65— 188 
Gen. T. S. Dakin, Remington. 
800,... 5 4045553555555 5. ..66 
900. ...4 5445555544553 5. ...68 

1,000.... 3 3044535555430 5.... 54— 188 
Major Henry Fulton, Remington. 
800. ,..3 5354554554553 5, ...66 
900. ...5 53 2 543 3 545553 5. ...62 

1,0U0....5 3505355555435 0... .58— 186 



Team aggregate. 



1,549 



IRISH TEAM. 



Lieut. George Fenton, Rigby Rifle. 

Yards. Score. Totals. 

«00....5 5535555532555 5. ...68 

900. ..,3 5545445435552 3. ,.,62 

1,000. ...5 3455554554455 5... .69-199 

J. K. Milner, Rigby Rifle. 

800. ...3 53444535455435, ..,62 

900.. .,2 45 5 455 5 545445 2 61 

1,000... 55555555555555 5....75- 

Henry Dyas, Rigby Rifle. 
800 .. 3 4 4 5 4 5 5 3 5 4 5 5 2 5 4..., 63 
900... 5 5554555 3 55032 5. .,.62 
1,000. ..5 5555555435555 4.,.. 71— 196 
William Riuby, Rigby Rifle. 

800. ...3 3545535444 3 55 4.. ..62 
900. ...3 4335 5 3 4545544 5. ,,,62 

.3 5554534544555 5..., 67— 191 



■198 



1,000. 



Yard. 

8u0.. 

900.. 
1,000,. 

800,, 

900.. 

1,00 J. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000., 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000., 



Edmund Johnson, Rigby Rifle. 

Score. 

.3 5554535424443 5... 

,5 5554524235544 4... 

,5 5444454554545 4.. 

W. R. Joynt, Rigby Rifle. 

.3 5535 5 25554555 2... 

.3 5453543445544 4... 

.5 4354345553 5 34 4... 

Lieut. A. Ward, Rigby Rifle, 

.54435554553555 3... 

■332243555444532,,. 

,5 3555345345 3 55 5,,, 

W. G. D, Goff, Rigbv Rifle. 

.3 32333334455 5 5 5... 
.3 3344535554543 4.,, 
.3 5444353444435 4... 



Totals. 
.61 
.62 
,67—190 



,64v 
,62 
.62- 

66 
.54 

,65- 



■188 



-18J 



,56 
,60 
.59-175 



Team aggregate 1,522 



AUSTRALIAN TEAM. 



J. J. Slade, Rigby Rifle. 

Yards. Score. Totals. 

800. ...3 5555555544545 5, ...70 
9I0....5 4443555454554 4. ,..6(5 

1,000,... 3 5355555455545 5, ...69— 205 

Sergeant D. Gee, Rigby Rifle. 

800. ...5 5453555555555 5... 72 
900,.., 2 4 2 5 5 5 4 5 4 5 5 5 4 5 2,,.. 62 
1,000. ...0 4553535534555 5..., 62— 196 
Capt. H. J. King, Rigby Rifle. 

800. ...5 4543 5 55545455 4, ..,68 
900.. ..4 43354545454 3 4 4.. ..61 
1,000. ...4 3545544545355 0... .61— 190 

Capt. J. McG. Smith, Rigby Rifle. 
800 ...4 5323555555234 3. ...59 
900, ...565454555 3 54435. .67 
1,000. ...4 5545354434553 4.. ,.63— 189 

Team aggregate 



Yards, 
800 . 
900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

9 0.. 

1,000., 

sno.. 

9 Id.. 

1,000.. 



Lieut. T. T. Draper, Rigby Rifle 

Score. 

..3 354455454344 3 5... 

.,5 42534535453435 . 

.,4 3554454545554 5... 

J. S. Lynch, Rigby Rifle. 

..5 4255355504553 5. 
..3 2554555525255 4. 
..4 4535 2 454454555 .. 
Major J. T. Sleep, Rigby Rifle. 

..5 2 3 2555455455 5 4... 

..0 4445354255555 4... 

..2 4543553554355 3... 

Capt. B. J. Wardill, Rigby Rifle 

..3 35455 5 5534555 5... 
.,350243524544555... 
..3 3543345324444 3.. 



Totals. 
..61 
..60 
..67—188 

..61 
..62 
..64—187 

64 
,00 
,61—185 



.67 
.56 
. 51—177 



1,517 



73 



SCOTCH TEAJkl. 



Martin Boyd, Ingram Rifle. 

Yards. Score. Totals. 

800.... 5 4. 3 55443554545 5.. ..66 

900.. ..3 3255345454255 4. ...69 

1,000.... 5 5545555555345 5.... 71— 196 

Wm. Thorburn, Metford Rifle. 

800.... 5 5555545555455 5. ...73 
900. ...5 4535345523454 0....57 

1,000.... 3 5445355543553 5.... 64— 194 
Wm. Clark, Henry Kifle. 
800. ...4 535555354553 5 5... .67 
900. ...3 5443433453555 5.. ..61 

1,000 ...3 4434353555563 5. ...62—190 
R, MuVittie, Ingram Kifle. 
800. ...5 3445545450443 6. ...60 
900.... 5 435583.=? 343555 5... 61 

1,000. ...3 4434353555553 5....62— 1S3 



Yards. 
800., 
9(0.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 



D. Fraeer, Henry Rifle. 

Scores. Totals. 

..5 4545665455544 5.. ..70 
..2 5 5 4 4 2 5 3 3 5 2 5 4 5 5.... 59 
..2 3344055324545 5....51— 18o 

Peter Rae, Ingram Kifle. 
..4 5445305544553 5. ...61 
..3 4443555543335 5. ...61 
..3 4535454533353 5.... 60-182 

Tliomas Wliitelaw, Ingram Rifle. 

..4 4545554462445 5. ...65 
..3 4254544354443 3. ...57 
..4 4534334544453 5.... 60— 182 

Dr. J. Mitchell, Metford Rifle. 

.3 5453354654543 5. ...63 



..0 4034355533045 
,.5 5044555345354 



3. ...47 

...57—167 



Team aggregate .* 1,477 



CANADIAN TEAM. 



L'eut. J. Adam. Rigby Rifle. 

Yards. Score. Totals- 

800 4 5545654445445 3....6ti 

900.. ..3 353 5 4 555242^ 5 4.. ..60 

1,000. ...5 5453253454455 5 64—190 



Major W. H. Cotton, Metford Rifle. 



800 

9o0 

1,000 



.5 4455535355444 5. ...63 
43235454345553 5. ...60 
.4 5553430435545 5. ...60— 186 
A. Bell, Metford Rifle. 

800.. ..5 5455534453345 3. ...63 
300. ...5 5453042445654 2. ...57 

1,000.... 3 46445545545244... 63—183 
Major J. M. Gibson, Metford Rifle. 
80>....5 453545555 5 355 5. ...69 
900.... 4 24B53555325335....54 

1,000.. ..2 5 43655425353 4 5....60— 1S3 



G. Murison, Metford Rifle. 



Yards Score. Totals- 

600.. ..3 25 5 4225525545 4. ...58 
900. ...5 554355355345 5 3. ...65 

1,000.... 5 3444543034555 5. ...59— 182 

Captain J. J. Mason, Metford Rifle. 

800. ...4 4535054456542 5. ...60 

900. ...5 5565524 24455 3. ...59 
1,000.... 3 5545554435053 5.... 61— 180 
William Cruit, Metford Rifle. 

800... 33353545255332 4,. 

900. ...3 3435335354354 4.. 

1,000.,.. 5 5334443302546 4.. 

George Dislier, Metford Rifle. 

S00....3 4434453334534 3.. 

900,... 2 444n3345235 2 2 5,. 
1,000,... 5 5 2 02445444535 3.. 



.55 
.67 
.54—166 




Team aggregate 1,433 



iammary 
Sec. Day. 



800 yds. 

f AMERICA 525 

I IRELAND 502 

-^ AU-TRALIA. fS23 

SCOTLAND 525 

LCAISIADA 492 



900 yds. 


1,000 yds. 


Total 


815 


509 


1,519 


485 


435 


1,5^2 


494 


501 


1,517 


462 


490 


1,477 


4(55 


476 


1,433 



Showing the result by range aggregates for the two days, it will be noted that at 
the 1,000 yards firing the Irish stand well above the other teams, while at the other 
ranges the Americans held a safe lead. The result, looked at in this way, is sug- 
gestive, and will lead the uninitiated to wonder why, if they can accomplish the pre- 
sumably more difficult feat of 1,000 yards' shooting, the Irish should not lead as 
well at 800 and 900 yards. 



800 y'ds. 

American team 1,1T5 

Irish ■. l.o:^7 

Scotch 1,060 

A ustralian 1 ,' 53 

CauaUiau 1,013 



900 y'ds. 


1,000 yds. 


Total. 


1,038 


1,01S 


.%126 


1,009 


1,058 


8,1 4 


J90 


1,113 


8,063 


1,018 


991 


8,06 i 


941 


969 


8,923 



In individual totals Milner's is the best in the field — 402 for the two days. Rath- 
bone made an equal total, but at 1,000 yards the American champion's aggregate was 
129 against 146 made by Milner, At 90 ) yards Ratlibone took first place with 188 
points, while at 800 yards, leading totals were by Gildersleeve and Farwell, of the 
Americans ; Thorburn ot the Scots, and Wardill, of the Australians, 138 points each. 



73 



Four of the eight contestants in the match of 1876 were gentlemen who had not 
figured as principals in the matches of the two preceding years. First of these new 
comers stands : 

Isaac Le Roy Allen is one of the team 
*' boys," and, with Jewell, manages 
to make things lively about his tar- 
get. He is a New Yorker by birth, 
and is about ' thirty-five years old. 
He is engaged with his brothers in 
the rope manufacturing trade in this 
city, and turns to shooang as a 
means of passing spare hours, and 
getting invigorating and pleasant 
field sport. He is slight of figure, 
but seemingly tough, always cool, 
and with a good, keen, blue eye. 
Since his first appearance on the 
range he has advanced rapidly to the 
first place, and his place on the team 
of 1876 he owes entirely to his good 
scoring under the excellent coaching 
of his friend Blydenburgh. He 
shoots a Remington rifle, and in 
position lies partly upon his side, 
the heel pressed into his right arm- 
]Dit, and the left hand grasping the 
barrel 




ISAAC L. ALLEN. 



Lawrence "Weber is another of that 
class who come properly under the 
head of "gentlemen marksmen," un- 
connected with the militia or with 
the gun interest. Mr. Weber, like 
Messrs. Allen and Rathbone, spends 
his time on the rifle field merely as 
a means of physical recuperation and 
relief from the tedium and strain of 
sedentary business pursuits in town 
Capt. Weber is a native of Buffalo, 
N . Y., and has turned forty years of 
life. He chose the lake, and sub- 
sequently the sea, and for a number 
of years was one of those who "went 
down in ships." After a very suc- 
cessful sea-faring fife he established 
himself in New York as a special 
agent of the Inland Marine Depart- 
ment of the ^tna Insurance Com- 
pany of Hartford, Conn. He has 
done well on the ranges, uses the 
back position, and is always counted 
on for a place in the first half dozen 
iu any match in which he appears. 




LAWRENCE WEBER. 



74 




E. BATHBONE- 



Ramson Rathbone, the *' ancient'' 
of the team, born in Salem, New 
London County, Conn., in 1821, and 
remained there a farmer lad until his 
eighteenth year, banging away with 
shot-gun and rifle at large and small 
game, and getting the love of powder 
burning thoroughly into his system. 
As a tanner and leather merchant lie 
passed thirty years or more, securing 
a competency, and rejoicing, like all 
his countrymen, over the promised 
success of the team in Ireland, and 
it is told, and Mr. Rathbone does not 
deny the story, that at a dinner party 
one day, Mr. Rathbone, being pres- 
ent, expressed his opinion that there 
were thousands of Americans who 
could, with six months practice, pro- 
duce equal results as those shown by 
the chosen team. At this time (July, 
1875), Mr. Rathbone bought a Rem- 
ington rifle, and in the September 
following not only proved his words 
but excelled many who were the 
subject of the dinner enthusiasm. 
With the weight of fifty-five summers he bears up his height of five feet eleven 
inches with a good amount of elasticity, his step is rapid and in keeping with his 
spare and wiry figure. In shooting he uses the Fulton position. 

Lieut. -Col. Willard B. Farwell is 
a Massachusetts man, and is forty- 
four years of age. He was one of 
the early pioneers to California, after 
the discovery of gold there, and was 
largely identified with the early his- 
tory of San Francisco. He was for 
many years connected with the daily 
press of San Francisco. In 1854 he 
was elected to the California Legis- 
lature, and in 1855 was the nominee 
of the Whigs for the State Senate. 
He was chief editor of the Daily 
Alta, California, for several years, 
and was appointed Naval Officer of 
the port of San Francisco by Mr. 
Lincoln, and acted for a time as 
Collector also. He was elected Presi- 
dent of the Society of California Pio- 
neers in 18G3. At the expiration of . 
his term of office in the Customs he 
was appointed by Secretary of the 
Treasury INIcCulloch, Resident Agent 
WILLARD B. FARWELL. of the Treasury Department in 




75 



Europe, where he remained until 1870, resigning the position in May of that year. 
Colonel Farwell is now engaged in bringing out a new Mitrailleuse of his own in- 
vention. Colonel Farwell dui*ing his stay in New York was appointed Division In- 
spector of Rifle Practice on the staff of General Shaler, N. G. of the State of New 
York. As a shooter he has shown some verj'' brilliant scores. In October, 1875, he 
put in twenty consecutive bull's-eyes at 800 yards, and then stopped for lack of time 
without getting out of the bull's-eye. The target showing is as follows : 




He shoots in a side-lying position, with rifle heel pushed into the right arm pit, 
and the barrel lying over the left thigh, the left hand grasping the barrel firmly. 

The superb trophy offered to the riflemen of the world by the riflemen of America 
is, as may be seen from the cut facing page 57, perfectly unique in design. The ban. 
ner is always an emblem of war, while in peace it has a festal and triumphant char- 
acter, and yet as a trophy it has been seldom used. The peculiarity of this grand 
emblematic production is not, however, confined to its form, but involves a novel 
use of the metals of which it is composed. Gold or silver is the usual fabric in 
which complimentary articles are worked, not only for intrinsic value, but for their 
ductility in the hands of the artist, and for the richness of the effects, brought out by 
the colors and contrasts in the treatment of the surfaces. Messrs. Tiffany & Co., 
whose renowned ateliers have sent out so much of our best work in precious metals, 
had charge of the Centennial Riflemen's Trophy, and to the inventive taste of their 
artists this bold and striking design is due. In this case, however, they have seen fit 
to depart from the accepted usage in employing gold and silver exclusively, and have 
boldly followed the example of the famous artists in metals of the rennaissance per. 
iod, imitated satisfactorily by some of our best modern artists, who have worked iron 
very successfully, and with great delicacy and clearness of idea and outline. The 
use of all the metais in the one subject is, however, so far as we know^ quite new. ^ 
The trophy is about seven and a half feet high, and is wrought of iron, inlaid with 
gold, silver and copper. The idea is: The legionary standard under which the 
Romans subdued the whole world. Such banners may be seen depicted in the tri- 
umphant procession of Maximilian, drawn by Albert Durer. The staff is of plain 
burnished iron, with fillets of polished copper, surmounted by a sculptured copper 
eagle with raised wings. In the eagle's claws is held the f ulmen, indicative of power, 
and from thence barbed shafts of lightning are wrought in silvc*. Beneath this, on 
an oblong plate (in lieu of the S. P. Q. R. upon the Roman banners), is the Latin 
word"Palma," signifying prominence, valor and victory; over it is a silver laurel 
wreath. A fasces of copper is attached to the plate by two strong links, and from it 
hangs the field of the banner, which is enriched with a delicate scroll work of gold 
inlaid in the iron, and across the surface is the legend : • 

In the Name of the United States of America to the Riflemen of the Woeld, 
in silver incrustation. At the bottom of the field is a frieze of inlaid mosiac gold 
fringe. A chain, fastened at either end of the fasces, falls in a semi circle across the 
iron field, and attached to it at intervals are nine smnll laurel wreaths of silver, in- 
closing each a plate of copper in which the dates from 1876 to 1884 are incrusted. 
The whole trophy stands over eight feet high. 



'^'C 



THE IRISH-AMERICAN MATCH— CREEDMOOR— 1876. 



Industry and time their work have Avrought, 
And honor crowns the skill that labor taught. 



When the coming over of the Irish riflemen to participate in the American Centen- 
nial match was determined upon by the Irish Rifle Association, it was the most natu- 
ral thing in the world that they should seize the opportunity for another of those 
bouts with the American riflemen, as represented in the Amateur Rifle Club of New 
York, which had been as enjoyable and interesting at Creedmoor and Dolloy mount 
in 1874 and '75. The Irish were very anxious to win in the last contest, in fact they 
made no scruple of saying that they set more value on a victory here than in the 
greater Centennial match, and now when they had won second place in the big com- 
petition, they were more anxious to step to the very front by whipping the victors. 
The match had been arranged for the acceptance of a challenge sent by Mr. H. H. 
Foster, Honorable Secretary of the Irish Rifle Association, several months previous 
to the date of the match. The conditions were precisely as in the previous matches, 
except that the one of 1876 was to be fought on the new targets, and was to be, as 
that of 1875, for honor alone, no stakes being required. Major Leech had the choice 
of the numbers in the team, and chose six, dropping from his Centennial team 
Messrs. Ward and Goff, while on the American side Gildersleeve and Bodine stepped 
out. The match was fixed for Sept. 21, 1876, and on that date the Irish riflemen 
measured strength with their American friends of the range for the fourth time, and 
for the fourth time found themselves overmatched, outshot and fairly beaten. There 
was no *• fluke," and the success was entirely a matter of superior skill. The victory 
was won, too, by a team that did not embrace thevery flower of American small-bore 
skill, and while not exactly a j unior team, was not such a one as would have taken the 
field had the grand international trophy been the prize striven for by the six. In the 
two previous years of this match the beaten team was, in the opinion of all, handled 
in anything but a skilful manner, but in the present year the care of Major Leech in 
looking after his men, preventing any undue indulgence in any direction, and keep- 
ing a sharp eye against any of those thousand and one little things which make the 
difference twixt bull's-eye or miss, was noted by all. The selection of the. Garden 
City Hotel as the headquarters for the Irish party, was made entirely with reference 
to the wants of the team. In place of the slipshod individual styles of carrying on 
the shooting, the Irish team had a system second in no outward aspect to that which 
had been so thoroughly and successfully developed in the former American mitches. 
All this preparation and precaution, while making the Irish team a more united 
bod} , had also the effect of increasing their self-confidence. That the Irish team 
was 10 suffer a third defeat was never once suspected by its members or captain. 
*' Why, we could make a score to-day tin-owing stones at the target," said the Major 
on the morning of the match. 

The day was fully as much an Irish as an American day, rather such a one as the 
Irish ranges would experience than any seen at Creedmoor. It was cold, and ex- 
cept that the excitement of the conflict made the spectator more or less oblivious of 
it, a decidedly unpleasant day for a sedentary out-door employment. The wind was 
gusty, never dying away to a calm, nor, on the other hand, rising to very vigorous 
blasts, but its direction made careful watching an imperative duty. Throughout 
the match the pointer on the wind dial on the range pointed to 1 o'clock or there- 
abouts. Once or twice it veered up to 13 o'clock, and constantly showed a tendency 



77 

to slip down to S o'clock. The early hours of the match reminded many present of 
the day a year or more ago on the Dollynount sands. Then, as now, the day opened 
cold and threatening, with promises of rain, but ere many shots had been fired the 
sun shone out with vigor and brightness. But the sunlight was not of much moment. 
For a while, at 900 yards, the temporary awnings under which the riflemen sat in 
loading and cleaning, were a pleasant addition to the Tange fittings, but during the 
greater portion of the day they were more ornamental than useful, and at the 1,000 
yards range were not even erected. The choice of targets was by lot. It had been 
intended by the Range Committee to have the firing along the right flank of the 
range. This did not suit the Irish captain, who was afraid to trust his adversaries 
on the extreme right pair of targets, on which they had won the international 
match a few days before. The line of flags down the edge of the range, while 
readily observed in their every variation by the flank squad, were not so easily noted 
by the teams occupying targets furcher to the middle of the range. The line of tar- 
gets was labelled H, K, W, A, X, I, II, III, IV, V, YI, and in place of using III and 
IV for the one team and X and I for the other, with II vacant, Major Leech pro- 
posed that K and W, with X and I, should be the targets of the day, with A as the 
intervening blank. This was at once agreed to, and the right-hand pair, X and I- 
fell to the American Captain. The ropes were now stretched to keep back the im, 
patient crowd who were on the groucd by the early trains in good numbers. The 
police were there also doing good service in preserving an ample open working space 
at the rear of the firing points, and the pompous policeman was there too who at 
cV3ry faint manifestation of applause on the part of the spectators, shouted out in 
stentorian voice and questionable grammar, *' Don't make no expression of feeling ; 
ye'll disturb the shooters," making, in his own efforts for order, more disorder than 
the whole crowd. Among the prominent persons on the ground were the majority 
of the oflicers of the National Rifle Association, many members of out- of town clubs, 
and representatives of the visiting teams. Colonel MacDonald, the captain of the 
recently defeated Scotch team, was at the firing point throughout the day, acting as 
the representative of Major Leech at the American side of the field, and keeping not 
only a sharp eye through a telescope on the American targets, but taking observa- 
tions as well on the American system of dSag things. Captain Thorburn, also of the 
Scotch team, was out, and did duty as referee for the Irish team in the butts, seeing 
that no inaccurate marking was done. Major Leech and Colonel Mitchell, before 
the opening of the match, decided upon (jeneral Shaler as referee for the two teams 
in case of any dispute, but throughout the day there was not a single call for the ex- 
ercise of his function. 

The squads were small, but three on a target, and it was not many moments after 
the warning cannon had boomed before the sharp crack of the rifle and the whiz of 
the bullet down the range told that the conflict was on. At 10:50 the flrst cannon 
sounded, and for a few moments those who were to figure as con':e?tants were busily 
engaged warming up their rifles by firing into the ground, adjusting the sights, con- 
ferring with other experts (for the day, filling the place of " coaches " on points of 
wind) and generally getting ready. The Irish riflemen gave themselves plenty of 
working room, the captain sitting back a few yards among the ladies of the party 
who came down to see their countrymen and champions labor. The Americans, as 
on former occasions, had no lack of counsellors. " Old Reliable " was there, and 
Yale with Blydenburgh and Bruce, of the reserves. At 11 o'clock sharp the second 
cannon warned the loitering markers from their loafing places on the bank before the 
targfts down into the butts, the traps were shut and all was ready for the first shot. 
The distribution on the targets determined the order of shooting. On target K of 
the Irish, Rigby fired first, followed by Johnson and Joynt. On the adjoining tar 
get. W, the order was Fenton, Dyas and Milner. The inner American target X had 
Dakin, Weber and Allen, and for the far-off target, I, the men were Farwell, Rath- 



78 

bone and Fulton. In this order the men fired, each rising mentioning points of wind 
and elevation, and, in short, passing on ths experience of his last shot to the next 
comer. The first shot blazed out from firing-point I, Farwell sending down a bullet 
into a very good bull's-eye, bringing up the white disc and a slight round of applause. 
Rathbone followed quickly in another bull's-eye, and by this time the Irish battery- 
had begun to play, liigby, the first to fire, getting also a bull's-eye. The opening 
was fine all along the line, Allen, of the Americans, and Joynt, of the Irish- 
men, a pair of the younger marksmen, being the only men to open with inners. The 
first round was quickly fired, and more quickly the total was struck by a hundred 
ready-reckoners, and the result — Irish, 27 ; Americans, 25 — told the beginning of a 
lead which many hoped would be extended far enough to give the Irish an emphatic 
victory. As a matter of fact it would not be far wrong to say that a majority of 
those present were interested in a success for the visitors. There was no lack of in- 
terested friends watching their every movement, giving a long, jubilant murmur 
when the bull's-eye of either target K or W was obscured by the marking disc, and 
ready with a sympathetic O ! when a "duck's-egg" was entered on the bulletins.- 
The slight lead the Irish had obtained with the first round was swept away with the 
second, and the lead was with the Americans ; on the third round a tie, and then a 
few points ahead to cheer the Americans' backers ; then at the sixth round an en- 
couraging tie, but with the seventh round came the beginning of a lead which, with 
ups and downs, was carried through the remainder of the day to the American vic- 
tory at the end. Of the ninety American shots fired at this range sixty were upon 
the bull's-eyes, twenty-two were " nippers" on the central space, seven inners, not a 
one on outer, and but one miss. The Irish firing was more scattered, though not 
off the target. The closing round at the 800 yards' stage was a disastrous one for 
the Irishmen. An outer and a couple of inners pulled them down until Ji lead of 
fifteen points was left their opponents. "Wait a bit," said their friends; "they 
pulled up twenty-two points at a thousand the other day," and the crowd went off 
to struggle for sandwiches and beer about the eating booths. 

Promptly by 2 o'clock the marksmen were back to the firing-points ready for the 
reopn ning of hostilities. The leading off was as before, the Americans in particular 
getting a good send-off, their lead rising t# eighteen points. But the battle was not 
yet over, and among the shooting men not a fraction of a chance was overlooked. 
The hot sun coming out for a time seemed to help the Americans, the mirage at this 
time of the day being very strong, though the Irishmen, firing from higher parts of 
ground, suffered least. In the American squad mioses began to appear more frequent- 
ly, Fulton getting one, in addition to a earless outer. To the general crowd the result 
was now looked upon as a foregone conclusion, but not so the American riflemen, 
who knew from old experience the inconvenient knack the Irishmen had of closing up 
on the 1.000 yards, the " horaestretch " of the race ; accordingly all due care was taken 
with the opening shots after the 1,000-yards' point had been reached. The Iri^ii were 
now in good <^rim, with the dull afternoon light in every way familiar lo their eyes, 
an inducement as much as any riflemen could need to spur them to the best efforts'. 
But two outers and two misses were not so favorable, these two last omissions were 
toward the close of the day's work, by Milner and Dyas, complete surprises to 
both, but no doubt due to want of care in coming down in the elevations as the shades 
of evening drew on. But on the American targets the 1,000-yard range was a scene 
of high excitement, not uproarious, but none the less (hep and earnest. The open- 
ing was tine, and every one was anticipating an easy victory. 

When Farwell on his second shot got a miss, this was a surprise and made the 
other team men the more careful that the loss might be retrieved, and with the lead 
on their side no serious apprehension was felt, but his third shot was likewise a miss. 
Extra precaution in cleaning and aiming his next round brought up the old famiMar 
bull's-eye disc ; next came a series of ups and downs— an outer, followed by two 



79 



misses, this again by two bull's-eyes, and then again by two other misses. Then 
Weber aided the confusion by kicking up dust with a ricochet-shot. Matters were 
becoming critical. The other team men fired on with no abatement of their own 
effort, but the whispered warning and intelligence, "His gun is leading bad," was 
like the half-uttered information, " We've sprung a leak " between decks on an emi- 
grant ship . To have a gun leaded meant wild shooting, to fire with such an arm was 
lottery of the most risky sort, and no matter how skilful the marksman, the use of a 
leaded gun was little better than no weapon at all. Farwell seemed to strive with his 
favorite rifle and cleaned it out, rubbing with desperate energy ; but the next shot 
brought no answermg disc, and when the twelfth round had been fired and the Irish 
had crept up to within four points of his squad, he was compelled by the advice of 
his fellow shooters to abandon his piece and accept one of a dozen offered weapons. 
It did not take long for Mr. C. E. Blydenburgh to fetch out his weapon, an exact 
duplicate of Colonel Farwell's. The first shot with it was an inner, next a centre 
and the third a bull's-eye on the wrong target. Nevertheless, Rathbone and Fulton 
following on with a bull's-eye each, gave the victory to the Americans, and the 
fight was over. When the two misses on the Irish target came, a good 
minority of the crowd breathed easier ; and the snatching of victory, when every- 
thing appeared to be pushed toward the down hill of defeat, had so wrought up 
the crowd that little spirit was left for cheering. It was Farwell's last team shoot ; 
his brilliant record had been dimmed, and he left the ranges probably never to take 
part in another battle as a repre3entative American rifleman. The following is the 
complete score : 

AMERICAN SCORE. 



General T. S. DaTcin— Remington Rifle. 

Yards. Scores. Totals. 

800. ...4 44565555555455 ....71 

900. ...5 5554543444545 5. ...67 

1,000. ...5 5 5 555355Sr55545.. . .70-208 

Ransom Ratlibone— Remington Rifle. 

800.... 5 54534555554454. ...68 
900.... 4 55554545555534 69 
1,000. ...444355354555555.... 67—204 

Isaac L. Allen— Remington Rifle. 
800. ...3 5554 5 5555 3 5355. ...68 
900. ...4 05454334553554 ....59 
1,000.. ..5 5454555555545 5. ...72— 199 



L. Weber— Remington Rifle. 
Yards. Scores. Totals 

8(0.... 4 3 3 4 5 5 4 5 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 ....66 
900.... 5 553455 3 4555545. ...68 
1,000. ...5 35545555044455 ...64-198 
Major Henry Fulton— Remington Rifle. 
800. .. .4 4 5 5 5 4 5 5 4 5 5 4 5 5 5 ... .70 
900.... 3 5605 3. 345454233. ...54 
1,000,... 4 344545535555 5 5.... 67— 191 

Lieut.-Col. W. B. Farwell— Remington Rifle. 

800. ...554550554455545. ...66 
900. ...5 5545 5 4 5453555 4. ...69 
1,000... 30053200550034 0.... 30— 165 



Team aggregate 1,165 



IRISH SCORE. 



Yards. 

800. 

900.. 
1.000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 

800.. 

900.. 

1,000.. 



Joshua K. Milner— Rigby Rifle. 

54455554 3 54554... 

54555455455555... 

55455455555035... 

Henry Dyas— Rigby Rifle. 

44353454555555... 

5454455523 5 345... 

55555355555550... 

William Rigby— Kigby Kifle. 
.5 3 55534554 5 5555... 
,3 52545543534553... 
.4 3 55 55355553555. ,, 



Totals. 

68 
.72 
.66—206 

,66 
.64 
.68—193 

.69 
.61 
67—197 



Lieut. George Fenton— Rigby Rifle. 

Yards. Scores. Totals. 

800.... 5 43544555454553. ...66 
9U0... .444334245535554. ...59 

1,000.... 3 4554454554443 5.... 64— 189 

Edmund Johnson— Rigby Rifle. 
800.... 5 55455545 5 43252. ..,64 
900. ...3 56 2 5 45334 3 3435 ....57 
1,000. ...3 54434545355553 ....63—184 
W. R. Joynt— Rigby Rifle. 

800.... 3 25455455354533. ...61 
900... 455353255434404. ...56 
1,000. ...5 5625425344554 5. ...63— 180 



Team aggregate 1,154 

It is somewhat curious as showing the close matching of the men that on the three 
days' shooting the aggregate of these six riflemen should exactly tie, as follows : 



Range. Sept. 
13. 

800 407 

900 397 

1,000 392 

Aggregate.. 1196 



—Irish team. — 
Sept. Sept. 



14. 
380 
371 
411 

1162 



21. 
394 
869 
391 

1154 



Total. I Range. 

1,181 800.... 
1,137 900 ... . 
1,194 ! 1,000.... 

I 

3,512; Aggregate.. 1194 



Sept. 


— American team. — 
Sept. Sept. 


Total. 


13. 


14. 


21. 




411 


392 


409 


1,212 


392 


385 


386 


1,163 


391 


376 


370 


1,137 



1153 



1165 



3,512 



80 



LONG-RANGE RIFLE SHOOTING. 



Few who have not been especially called to acquaint themselves with the details 
have a very clear idea of this long-range practice. The distances are 800, 900 and 
1,000 yards, or 2,400, 2,700 and 3,000 feet. Two of the three distances thus exceed 
a half mile. From City Hall to Canal street is put down at half a mile, 'or, taking an 
up-town measurement, one of t^e team men stationed on Fifth avenue, at Delmonico's 
old quarters, would fire up the avenue to a target placed at or above his new one. 
The bull's-eye of the target, though three feet in diameter, at this distance is only a 
black dot. Fig. 1. at a distance of twenty-five feet shows the exact size of the target 
to the marksman at 1,000 yards. 



r 



Fig. 1. 

Of course, the interior division lines disappear from view ; a black dot upon a 
white face is all that remains to the unassisted eye. 

With the keen eye and steady holding power of a good rifle shot he is not able 
merely to distinguish the bull's-eye as a whole, but can discriminate between a shot 
near the edge of the bull and a more central one, or " carton " hit, as it is called. 
He will work his way by almost infinitesimal variations in his manipulation of the 
piece down to the very centre of the black central spot. Nor are these disturbing 
conditions of wind and light against which the riflemen contend fixed at all. 

A rifleman can seldom depend from one day to another upon the same conditions 
for his shooting. All other things being equal, a cloudy, moist, warm day requires 
the lowest elevation ; and a hot, bright day, or a very cold, bright day, the highest 
elevation. In the first instance there is no mirage, the eye is comfortable and lubri- 
cation of the piece is freer ; on the hot day the mirage is constant, and the powder 
scum packs in the barrel, causing friction and often the "leadiqg" of the barrel 
from the bullet. A heavy mist frequently rises, obscuring the target. The mirage 
seems to be the obstacle most diflicult to overcome, and no scientific ruk'S have yet 
been discovered in regard to it which can be depended upon. The bull's eye ap- 
pears to sink as the mirage increases, and to rise as it diminishes, and the nearer the 
line of sight i-s to the ground the more dense the mirage. 

Men with gray or blue eyes make better marksmen than those with dark eyes. 
All of the members of the American Teams have been light eyed men. It is as- 
serted, with great show of truth, that no marksman of prominence has had black 
eyes. It often occurs on days when clouds are fleeting across the range that as the 
marksman is about to fire after securing his aim, the bull's-eye disappears from 
"witlvn range of the sight, notwithstanding the fact that he is holding the ritle with 
perfect steadiness. The gray light of a rainy day is preferable to bright sunlight. 
The latter calls for almost constant and sometimes radical changes in elevation, 
while an entire score may be fired without changing the elevation when the sun is 
obscured. 



81 



In the foreign muzzle-loa'lers, as in our own breech-loaders, 
the appliances for governing and regulating the flight of the 
bullet are the same, wind gauges, levels, and Vernier sights are 
upon all. And first, of the rifles used : Those used by the 
Americans were of .44 calibre, that is with a bore of 44-100 
of an inch diameter. The length of barrels may vary an inch 
or two, ranging from 32 to 36 inches in length. The butt 
stock is made . with pistol-grip, which enables the piece to be 
held more firmly, and a flat butt plate, which is easier on the 
shoulder in the lying-down position. 




The ammunition is contained in metallic cartridge cases, fitting very closely mto 
the chamber of the rifle. From 90 to 110 grains of powder are consumed, throwing 
a carefully avera-ed and patched hardened bullet of about 550 grains weight. The 
bullet and powder charges are each accurately weighed, as upon the exact equality of 
the ammunition charges in each case the uniformity of the firing will depend. 



83 

In the breech-loading rifles an important point is the breech-action or device for 
opening and closing the rear end of the barrel. In the Sharps rifle a sliding breech- 
block is employed, the trigger guard acting as a lever to depress the breech-block at 
right angles to the axis of the bore. 




Fig. 5 — Sharps Rifle Breech-Action. 




83 



The sights, which the riflemen so carefully manipulate during the shooting, de- 
serve special attention. On the back of the rifle, nearest to the eye, is the rear sight. 
This is a round blackened disc, having an aperture of one-fortieth of an inch — about 
the size of the head of a pin. This moves up and down with a Vernier scale mark- 
ing lOOths of an inch. Each minute in this rear sight, when moved up or down, 
elevates or depresses the ball 1 inch in 100 yards. A mistake, then, of five minutes or 
5-lOOths of an inch, makes, at 1,000 yards, a difference of 4 feet 3 inches, and when 
the rifle is aimed at a centre, with this error, it would throw the ball, the elevation 
being too great, clear over the target. 




Fig. T— Face view of rear sight. Pro. 8— Side view of rear sight. 

This rear sight is for convenience of packing, hinged upon the stock of the barrel, 
either at ths tang of the frame or upon the heel of the butt, the two positions being 
shown in Figure 3. The use of one or the other depends upon the posture assumed 
by the rifleman in firing. For most of the back positions the heel sight is preferred. 



84 

while for the front lying positions the sight is fixed forward, near the breech-action. 
In the construction of the front sight it is placed as low down oa the barrel as pos- 
sible, and the head or whatever particular form of sight may be used is well protected 
from confusing glare by a long projecting hood. 




Fig. 9— Front sigbt, showing spirit level. Fig. 10— Front sight, f-howing wind gau^o, 

As the riflemen at long range always hold " dead on," the allowance for right and 
left wind is made on the wind gauge, one subdivision corresponds to a shifting of 
two inches in one hundred yards, or to twenty inches at one thousand yards, and 
the nice discrimination required to formulate the force of the wind into so many 
points right or left on the wind gauge, calls for the keenest display of judgment on 
the part of the riflemen, and it is to cultivate this first sense of wind-judging that the 
riflemen practice with such tireless energy and persistency. 

The range work of the experts during the several years of their practice has been 
of immense service to the makers of guns and in questions of ammunition. 

It was formerly supposed necessary to use the purest and softest lead that could be 
obtained for bullets, in order that it might "upset" into and fill the grooves. This is 
now known to be a mistake, as the bullet will "upset" with the charges of powder 
now generally used, even if made quite hard, and it is to be found to be a decided 
advantage to harden lead by the addition of a little tin, say three-quarters of an 
ounce of tin to a pound of lead. A' hard bullet retains its shape better, is more 
accurat3 in its flight, and is less apt to lead the gun. 

Another error, which is not yet entirely given up, is the use of too quick powder. 
A comparatively slow burning, but scrupulously clean powder is found to show the 
best results. Questions of trajectory are interesting as well, and upon the path the 
bullet describes in reaching the target will depend to a great 'extent the amount of 
disturbance it will experience. 

If a gun is fired in a perfectly horizontal position the bullet commences to fall as 
soon as it leaves the muzzle, and after it has been one second in the air it will have 
fallen 16 9-100 feet ; at the end of two seconds it will have fallen 48 27-100 feet, and 
at the end of three seconds, 80 45-100 feet. Supposing the bullet to have a menu 
velocity of 1,000 feet during the first second, 800 feet during the next, and 60O feet 
during the next, it would have fallen 80 45-100 feetm going 800 yards. To counter- 
act this falling of the bullet it is necessary to give a variable amount of elevation, 
depending upon the distance at w^hich the target stands ; and in proportion as the 
trajectory is flatter by reason of the greater velocity and power of the bullet, will the 
amount of elevation be less. In hunting, or wherever the distance of the object 
fired at is unknown, the importance of a flat trajectory is evident, but even where 
the distance is known it is still important. 

In addition to the rapid increase of divergence produced by the more acute angle 
at which the bullet strikes the target the greater velocity a bullet has, and therefore 
the greater "m 'Wii^n," which varies as the square of the velocity, the less will the 
bullet be affected by accidental disturbing causes, and the more uniform and regular 
will be the shooting. The question of position in firing is one which has brought 
out no small amount of study and care. 

The old * 'deer-stalking" position, which but a few years ago was the almost universal 
one, is now as completely abandoned, especially by American riflemen, and of fifty 



85 

long-range shooters in a Creedmooor match, perhaps one, or possibly two, may be 
found shooting in the old Bodine position, as shown in Fig. 10. 

Among the best positions the variety of twists and twines which may be given to 
the several members of arms and legs and head, make almost as many distinct 
postures as there are riflemen. A few of these are shown in Figs. 12 to 15. 




Fig. 15. 



86 

One of the most familiar of the bacK positions is that known on American ranges 
as the *' Fulton" position. This is most clearly shown in Fig. 16. 




Fig. 16. 



Scientific long-range shooting it will be seen in its intricacy and the complex in- 
fluences which go to make up the surroundings of a good marksman deserves almost 
the rank of a fine art. Certainly the man who make s a success of this sport is a 
genius if we accept Longfellow's diction that " Genius is only the infinite capacity 
of taking trouble." 

In addition to all the known positive obstructions to accurate shooting there are 
plenty of accidental disturbances. If the wind be blowing down the range the 
bullet is lifted along, and with a flatter trajectory or greater speed would slip over 
the top of the target. Dovm come the elevations ten, twenty, or thirty inches, and 
bull's-eyes are made. If the wind is varying each shot must be fired from the lesson 
of the last and the changes in the meantime. If the wind be blowing up the range 
the bullets are retarded, and drop to the ground before the target. In the case of a 
side wind the front sight is moved right or left to throw the muzzle of the rifle 
against the wind. The grooving of the rifle gives the swift, revolving leaden bolts a 
natural " drift" to the right. This is a permanent variation, and can be corrected : 
but the wind rises and fails, and it is no unfrequent thing to have the marksmen 
using fifteen "points of wind," or in other words, actually pointing the muzzle of 
the gun twenty-five or more feet away from the bull's-eye. Given a "fish-tail" 
wind partly up or dovni the range and partly across, and variable in strength as well, 
and some idea may be gotten of the perplexity which surrounds a good judge o^ 
wind. Some days the pressure of the air is greater than on others, and this must be 
allowed for. A hot sun pouring down en a damp range raises a shimmer cf mist 
which gives the whole target a dancing look, precisely as one would see an object 
across a room when looking over a hot stove. This is perplexing. The variations 
of light and shade seem to lift or depress the target centre. Heat and cold affect 
the gun metal and depress or elevate the flying bullet. But before all those mat- 
ters are attended to the rifleman must be sure of his weapon, confident in its ac- 
curacy ; his powder must bo of the same strength each and every day, and from 
charge to charge the bullets must be without air-holes, without dent or scratch, of 
the same hardness of metal, and accurately shaped. The rifle must be uniformly 
clean from shot to shot, and then when the man has mastered all these items and 
can hold his rifle true to the little bubble at the spirlt-gaugo which rests across the 
barrel at the front sight, can hold it with a vise-like grasp, can repress for a moment 



87 

all motion and hold his head steady as a rock and pull off the three-pound resistance 
of the trigger and care not at ell for the 200-pound kick which the rifle gives— Ihea, 
if he has not misjudged in any particular, may he hope to see the welcome sinking 
of the white lid over the black bull's-eye, telling the story of a perfect shot. 

Apart from the patriotic enthusiasm* aroused by the several long-range matches in 
which American rifles and riflemen have been successful, there is the gradual solu- 
tion of the problem of breech vs. muzzle-loading rifles. The use of breech-loaders 
in England is limited strictly to military weapons, for short and mid-range matches, 
and it is currently supposed by the majority of the long range experts that fixed am- 
munition was too unreliable to be used for such a delicate purpose as long-range 
shooting. The gun makers in England and other foreign countries had vaialy 
attempted the application of the breech-loading principle to arms of the highest pre- 
cision. The first establishments in this country to undertake the manufacture of 
breech-loading, long-range rifles were the Remingtons and Sharps. Their weapons 
stood the test of experience in the match of 1874, and came out in a manner that 
showed them to be fully the equals of the Riby rifle at least. The Remington rifle 
was especially distinguished in this match by the highest score that had ever been 
made by any rifle in any match at the same distances. This was a crowning triumph 
for it. 

American experts, while allowing all that could possibly be conceded to their sys- 
tem of team discipline, have yet been aware that a certain advantage accrued to the 
use of the guns themselves from the nature of their construction. This advantage 
was that they were enabled to use much heavier charges of powder in the course of 
a match, where wiping out is permitted after every shot, than can practically be used 
in the muzzle-loader. The reason is simple. While it is perfectly easy to pour any 
amount of powder into a muzzle-loader, it is far from safe, and the barrel becomes so 
foul after one or two shots that it is impracticable to clean it sufficiently for accurate 
shooting during the course of a match. Another objection to the use of heavy charges 
is, they heat the barrel excessively, and that it has no time to cool. With the breech- 
loader, on the other hand, when heavy charges are used, the breech-block can be 
thrown open between shots, and the barrel cools rapidly. It is also easy to shove a wet 
wad through from the rear, passing out through the muzzle, traveling only one 
way, when the same wad would inevitably stick fast on its return if it were com- 
pelled to be pulled back after being thrust forward. Besides, the breech-loader may 
be inspected by looking through the barrel in a way which cannot fail to detect any 
imperfection, and thus it is possible to deliver each shot under precisely the same 
conditions, so far as the weapon is concerned. 

The Canadians, after their defeat a . Creedmoor by the " babies " of the Amateur 
Club, expressed themselves as satisfied that their defeat was owing to the guns as 
much as the men, and emphasized that belief by providing themselves with Ameri- 
can rifles. 

The year 1876 saw the first Complete and decisive trial of the two systems without 
any possibility of a cavil as to the result. An analysis of the scores of the different 
teams shows this. The foreign teams, without exception, used muzzle-loaders, the 
names of all the noted makers being represented, and all of the systems in use in the 
British possessions being fairly tried, and the result was a fair, full triumph of the 
American breech-loader. 



88 



THE BRITISH-AMERICAN MATCH— CREEDMOOR- 

1877. 



Still united let us be 

While we vie in rivalry, 

Which, with head and heart and hand, 

Shall honor most his Fatberland. 



The idea of holding the competitions for the Centennial trophy at yearly intervals, 
which in the first enthusiasm of preparation was decided upon by the N. R. A., was 
thought by many as rather too much of a straia upon the efforts of the long-range 
shooters, and as demanding too much outlay of time, money, and labor, and in a 
series of suggestions proposed by the several team captains, triennial or biennial 
matches for the great trophy were urged. With the view of leaving the matter 
more completely to the option of competitors, the Director of the N. R. A. decided 
that if in case no entries were made for the match of 1877 on or before the 1st of 
June of that year the matches should thereafter be biennial in their occurrence. It was 
within a week of that date, and not a response had yet been received in answer to the 
invitation of the American riflemen to such as felt inclined to dispute with tbem the 
honors of the championship, when on the morning of May 29 the riflemen of New 
York and America were set agog by the receipt of the following : 

To Col. George S. SchermerJiorn, Secretary If. R. A., 25 Park Row, Neic York: 

The National Rifle Association will send a United Kingdom team to Creedmoor 
this year. 

E. ST. JOHN MILDMAY, 

Secretary. 

"We'll beat 'em," was the first general remark on all sides, and at once all was 
activity and bustle about the quarters of the shooting men. Time was pressing ; 
barely three months remained in which to give notice to the long-range men of a 
continent that their badge of honorable championship had been challenged. There 
was promise of some slight diflficulty in the protest of the Scots against the recog- 
nition of an Imperial British team, the cautious Highlanders fearing that should this 
mixed team be lucky or skillful enough to carry away the bauble to England, that 
the right of a distinctively Scotch team to shoot for it there might be questioned. It 
is undoubtedly, and always has been, the intention of the donors of the prize to have 
it competed for by national teams, and not by the narrower limit of politically, 
national teams, and while in a diplomatic service Ireland and Scotland and the 
colonies of Great Britain might not demand free and independent representation, it 
was the intent of the framers of this team competition programme to have such 
rights accorded them on the rifle field. There arose too a qu?sjion of judAmeut in 
chosing the team or teams from the British Isles. The N R. A. of Great Britain 
held, as did many of the English riflemen, that the country could only be properly rep- 
resented by the choice of the best of the three kingdoms, and this was a perfectly logi- 
cal outgrowth of their theory of team practice, which is the aggregate result of the in- 
dividual efforts of a squad of picked riflemen; while others holding that something of 
aggregate eifort, or in other words, "clanishness," played an important p:irti n this 
form of rifle shooting, were unwilling to fritter their strength in divided eifort. The 
one theory was tried by separate teams in 1876, and the Americans were victorious. 
"Ah I" cried the Imperial team advocates, "just as we expected;" and the match 



of ISTT'was seized as an opportanlty to try the opposing theory of a mixed or united 
team. 

Sir Henry Halford had been appointed by the British N. R. A. as Captain of the 
Imperial team, and he at once placed himself in communication with the American 
riflemen in arrangement of the details. 

On this side the water no time was lost in issuing the usual preliminary call to the 

riflemen of the country desirous of winning a place on the team, and on June 9 the 

following call was sent out: 

PROGRAMME FOR THE SELECTION OF THE AMERICAN RIFLE TEAM OF 1877. 

Office of the N. R. A., 23 Pabk Row, New Yoek, June 9, 1877. 
Whereas, A united team representing Great Britain and Ireland has been entered 
to compete for the American Centennial Long Range Trophy and the Championship 
of the World, to be shot for at Creedmoor in September next ; and, 

WJiereas, The importance of this match demands that the best riflemen the coun- 
try can produce be selected to defend it ; therefore 

Resolved, That, for the purpose of seleciing a team to represent America in this 
match, four (4) competitions of two (2) days each shall be held at Creedmoor on July 
17 and 18, 24 and 25, 31 and Aug. 1, 7 and 8— the scores in three (3) of such com- 
petitions only to be counted in determining the team and reserve. 

Open to all native-born citizens of the United States who in any two stated prac- 
tices or competitions of 15 shots at each of the three distances of 800, 900, and 1,000 
yards upon any range, between April 1 and July 17, 1877, shall have made an aver- 
age of at least 180 points in each of said two competitions or practices. Said scores 
to be certified by an officer of the rifle club to which the person belongs, or sworn to 
by himself before any officer authorized to administer oaths. 

Distances, 800, 900, and 1,000 yards, fifteen shots at each distance on each day. 
Weapon, any rifle within the rules of the National Rifle Association of America 
(which rules shall also govern the competitions in all other respects). No sighting 
shots or previous practice by any competitor on the days of these competitions to be 
allowed. 

A committee of three (3) shall be appointed by the Board of Directors of the 
National Rifle Association, to whom shall be referred the duty of carrying out this 
programme. 

The team shall consist of a captain, adjutant, eight (8) men, and two (2) reserves. 
The captain may or may not be one of the shooting members of the team. 

in case any competitor shall, for reasons satisfactory to the committee charged 
with the conduct of these competitions, be imable to finish a score, or to compete on 
<^ny of the prescribed days, such committee shall be authorized to fix another day for 
such part of the competition as he may have missed. Such committee shall decide 
when, if at all, a competition shall be postponed on account of the weather, and 
when it shall be resumed or completed. No competitor shall be allowed to retire 
from any competition, without the permission of the committee. 

The team and reserve shall be chosen as follows : Upon the conclusion of the 
competitions six members of the team shall be decided upon by selectmg in the order 
of merit, as shown by aggregating the best three of their scores in these competitions, 
the highest aggregate taking the first place, and so on until the required number be 
obtained. 

The committee of three (3) herein provided for, and the six men so chosen, shall 
by a joint majority vote elect the other two of the eight necessary to constitute the 
team, being authorized, if in their judgment it be deemed advisable and necessary for 
the strengthening of team, to make their selection from among riflemen of known 
skill who may not have shot in all or any of the competitions. 

The reserve shall consist of the two (2) men next highest in order of merit in the 
competitions to those already on the team. 

As soon as practicable after their selection the team and reserve shall, by a ma- 
jority vote, select a captain, who shall appoint an adjutant to assist him in his 
duties. 

The captain, when elected, shall have the management of the team and prescribe 
the rules for its government and practice. 

Each person entering for the competitions shall subscribe to the following ; 

I desire to compete for a p'ace on the American rifle team to represent the United States in the 
Centennial Long Range Rifle Mttch of 1877 for the Centennial Trophy, and hereby agree to con- 
form to the conditions pre^^c^ibed for the se'ection of said team. 

If I am a succens'iil ompsriior I hereby pledge my word that I will shoot in the match, and 
will in adfiition perform such practice and submit to such discipline and government as the cap- 
tain of said team t^hall direct. 



{)0 

Competitors, not members of the N. R. A., will be furnished with members' tickets 
admitting them to the Range during the year 1877. 

Successful competitors on the team and reserve will have their expenses (that are 
approved by the committee having charge of the competitions) refunded to the extent 
of $200 each. 

In view of the national importance of this match competitors will be required to 
furnish to the committee having charge of the competitions, satisfactory reference s 
as to their character from the localities they represent, or the rifle a'^sociations or 
clubs to which they may belong. 

Any person who may have been selected in accordance with the foregoing regula- 
tions may for cause be removed by a two-thirds vote of the members of the commit- 
tee, team, and reserve. 

Entries for competition may be made by letter to the Secretary of the N. R. A. 
up to the evening of July 16, or in person on the Range up to 10 a. m. on July 17, 
1877. Those desiriDg to compete are requested to notifiy the Secretary as earl}^ as 
possible. All entries must be accompanied by the certificate of eligibility above 
provided for. 

Resolved^ That the Secretary be directed to issue a circular to the various rifle as- 
sociations and clubs throughout the United States, urging them to send their best 
marksmen to compete for places upon ihe team, so as to ensure the selection of a 
truly "national team," fully competent to sustain the reputation which has already 
been earned by American riflemen; and, further, that as the selection of the strong- 
est team can only be had by competing together and upon the Range wht re the 
match is to be shot, it will be necessary for competitors to attend at Creedmoor; 
that the conditions have bee#i made with a view to accommodate as much as possi- 
ble those living at a distance, and that the National Rifle Association earnestly 
recommends that the various localities having riflemen competent in their opinion 
to win a place upon the team should make such arrangements as will enable them 
not only to do so, but to remain during the practice. 

N. P. STANTON, Preddent. 

Geokge S. Schermeehoen, Jr., Secretary. 

The first day's shooting on July 17, was interrupted by a thunder storm and two 
ranges left unfired. On this day there were twenty-seven entries, and with three 
post entries made the total roll of candidates thirty. From Baltimore to Boston rep- 
resentatives were present, while in the list of arms, Remington's, Sharps', Peabody's, 
Ballard's and Muzzle-Loading riflts were noticed. Good scores were the rule during 
the several weeks' drill, and this preliminary independent practice showed that the 
choice, while from a limited was at any rate from a skillful circle of marssmen. 
At last on the 14th of August the competitive competitions for places were brought 
to a close and without availing themselves of the nomination clause in the programme 
took the first eight men in order, declaring that the team and the next couple as the 
reserve as follows : 

I'eam.—R. S. Jewell, Isaac L. Allen, W. H. Jackson, L. Weber, F. Hyde, 
T. S. Dakin, L. C. Bruce and C. E. Blydtnburgh. 

Reserve. — L. L. Hepburn and T. Lamb, Jr. 

Out of the possible 1,350 in the thrtc double day competitions on which the choice 
was founded, the scores stood, Jewell, 1,220 ; Allen, 1,219; Jackson, 1,201, ; Weber, 
1,195; Hyde, 1,191 ; Dakin, 1,187; Bruce, 1,172; BIydenburgh, 1,169. 

What the several detailed scores were, may be seen in the following table of totals 
made in the competition for places : 









-Jl'LY- 
i4 

212 
181 
211 
219 
195 
189 
208 
204 

1, 09 








^LGUST- 

7 

192 
2^5 
V02 
1^9 

mo 

1^8 
191 
l»i 

1,660 




Namb. 


'17 


IS 

A 

200 

184 

195 

19. 

19-2 

171 

U>3 


25 

i02 

2t'7 

197 

197 

202 

A 

197 

lfc5 


81 


' 1 


8 


Jewell 


199 

207 

19i! 

203 

l>-3 

1S9 

A 

191 


200 
1J.2 

iMi 

177 
193 
20' 
191 

187 

1,626 


205 
203 
194 
200 
207 
2(18 
189 
204 

1,610 


209 


Allen 


212 


JackMon 

Weber 


211 
202 


HyUe 


198 


DaklQ 


210 


Bruce 

BIydenburgh • 


190 

11'6 


Totals 


1,627 



The practice after the selection was excellent, but with sucti expert long-range 



. 91 

men as the New Orleans team had shown themselves, it was not an impossibility to 
add strength to the team by a rearrangement of its personnel. 

The plan selected by Sir Henry Halford in the choice of his team was simple and 
more expeditious. Starting with the Elcho Shield competitions, it was arranged that 
the three eights which shot for England, Scotland, and Ireland ia the shield match 
at Wimbledon on July 19 should meet at the Cambridge ranges on the 23, 24, and 25 
of July, and hold a three- days' contest for places on a team of ten men, the final and 
shooting eight to be chosen after reaching Creedmoor. 

The Cambridge competitions over the riflemen separated to meet again on the 
deck of the City of Richmond, sailing on the 15th of August on the transatlantic trip. 
Lieut. George Fenton, of the Irish squad, was taken by unanimous consent without 
competition as a thoroughly reliable shot. The scores made by the other con- 
testants stood : 



Name. 



Sergt. Ferguson, Scotcn 

Wm. Rigby, Irish 

A. P. Humphry, Eoglish 

L\eut.-Col. Fenton, English.. 

H. S. Evans, English 

R. W. Dunlop, C. B., Scotch. 

F. T. Piggott, English. 

Majors. S. Young, Irish.... 

Sir H. Halfurd, Euglisli 

Sergt. Gilder, English 

Lieut. Geo. Fen tun, Irish. . . . 
A. M. Fraser, Scotch 

G. G. Peterkin, Scotch 

H. Dy as, Irish 

Martin Smith, English 

R. S. Greenhill, Irish 

Dr. Traill, Irish , 





Cambridge, July. 




Elcho. 
Shield 


23(i. 


2Uh. 


25th. 


Total. 


July 19. 


208 


195 


192 


595 


184 


197 


191 


180 


668 


193 


184 


180 


197 


561 


192 


185 


183 


191 


659 


199 


166 


196 


193 


5^5 





183 


188 


180 


551 





182 


173 


186 


541 


17T 


176 


178 


187 


541 


199 


182 


178 


179 


539 


196 


1T7 


177 


180 


534 





— 


— 


— 


— 


201 


176 


165 


I8r) 


526 


— 


166 


173 


182 


521 





186 


166 


168 


520 


187 


161 


177 


179 


517 


158 


162 


175 


178 


515 





162 


155 


168 


485 


— 



In turning over the pages of the reports of the National Rifle Association and 
other records of rifle shooting in Great Britain, these team names are met again and 
again. 

Sir Henry Halford has been for many years connected with the volunteer force. 
He enjoys abundant leisure, which he spends upon a private range at his elegant estate 
atWistow, Leicester, England, and rarely misses a rifle competition of consequence in 
any part of the kingdom. He is, of the leading riflemen of England, the best inform- 
ed on the doings in foreign rifle circles, and in the matter of arms and position is 
fully up to the time. He was very courteous to the American team of 1875, at the 
time of their stay in England, and during a day's stay at his place he eagerly ac- 
cepted many hints on rifle shooting from the Americans. 

Of the other Englishmen on the team, A. P. Humphry is a barrister-at-law, an 
old Rugby lad, and latterly of Trinity College, Cambridge. He held ihe position of 
Ensign in the Cambridge University Corps and is a private in the " Inns of Court " 
Battalion. In 1871 he stood champion military shot of England in taking the Queen's 
Prize, with 68 in possible 84 at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. He has published a small 
■work on " First Hints in Rifle Shooting." 

Lieutenant-Colonel Fenton also carries a Volunteer title from his post in the 
twenty-fourth Lancashire Regiment. He has fired extensively at all the ranges and 
with all classes of weapons. 

H. S. W. Evans, another of the English contingents in the team, is a member of the 
Eton Veteran Corps. He came to America last year with the Irish team. He is a 
private in the 'Inns of Court" Battalion. 

F. T. Piggott until the present year had never fired in the Elcho Shield eight, though 
he had fired extensively with the Snider rifle. He is a Sergeant in the Cambridge 
University Corps, and is well up in all competitions in which he takes part. 

Sergeant-Instructor Gilder, of the Eighteenth Middlesex Regiment, has gained 



92 

but little prominence as a small-bore shot, 1877 being his first year on the Elcho 
Sbield lists. In 1874 he held the Dudley prize at Wimbledon. 

The Irish section of the British team will compare well with the Erglish and Scots. 
First in the group of three is Wm. Rigby, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He 
is connected with the gun-making house of Rigby & Co., of Dublin and London, ana 
is the " Old Reliable" of Irish rifle shooting. The Rigby rifles used by the Irish 
team in the several matches were from his house. He has shot in nearly eveiy 
contest for the Elcho shield, and either he or his cousin, John Rigby, has always 
figured as a member of the Irish eight. Mr, Rigby took jart in the second Irish- 
American match at Dollymount in 1875, and again at Creedmoor in 1876. 

Lieutenant Fenton is an officer in the Seventy-seventh Regiment of Foot. He is 
an old match shooter, always reliable, and the records show that never jet in a 
match has he scored a miss. He has fired in both the Creedmoor Irish-American 
matches, and held his owti well in both. 

Joshua K. Milner is the only one of the visitors who has taken part in all the pre- 
ceding matches. His brilliant .record as a marksman induced Sir Henry Halford to 
telegraph a request for his services at the last moment before sailing. R. S. Green- 
hill is another of the young shooters, and in several matches has filled the post of a 
reserve man. 

The Scotsmen on the British team are tried veterans. Sergeant N. Ferguson, of 
the First Inverness Regiment, shot in the first Elcho Shield match, and with the 
champion Rosses has shared the honors of the Scotch shooting ever since. 

C. Gr. Peterkin is a young man who has been in America before as a settler in 
Virginia. 

Arthur M. Eraser is a Highlander of high degree, and in Elcho Shield matches, 
as in individual matches, has a record to be proud of. 

These twelve men will make up the shooting party and reserve. The other 
members of the team party include Lieut. -Col. C. Lenox Peel and Major Waller, of 
the Wimbledon Staff ; Captain Bowlby, E. Vaughan Thompson and Vernon K. 
Armitage, with three ladies, the party is complete. 

Sir Henry Halford is a shrewd team captain. He has made every preparation for 
success, and has secured every point which might conduce to his success, and if 
defeat is to be his share, will take it only over an honorably high team total. 



ASK THE RIFLEMEN 

OF THE 

AMERICAN, BRITISH 

AND 

Which is the favorite Long Range Rifle at Creedmoor, this 
year. 

Average shooting last four days practicing at Creedmoor, 
by American Team: 

Sharps' Rifle, Average, - - - 202 1-2 
Remington's " - - - . 1981-2 

SHARFS m \m um mmm rifle 

MODEL 18T7. 




Sharps^ Mifle Company, 

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 



^» ^1 » » ■» 



SALESROOM: 

Iff BmPABWAT, 

NEW YORK. 



Union Square Hotel, 



I7i^i@if SQ'@r^ms, 



Corner Fifteenth Street, New York. 






ON THE EUROPEAN PLAN. 



BOOMS FBOM $1.00 to $4.00 :PEB DAT. 



G. K. LANSING, Manag^er. ALLEN & DAM, Propr's. 

Conroy, Bissett & Malleson, 

65 FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. 

Factory— Foot of South Eighth St., Brooklyn, E. D. 

SIX STRIP SPLIT 

BAMBOO 
RODS. 

Either Round or Hkxagonal. 
ENAMEL ALL PRESERVED ON THE OUTSIDE-QUALITY GUARANTEED. 

The annexed Hat will show the reductions we have made. We quote : 

Nf^w. FormerlT 

Fly Rods, 6 strip, 2 Tips $15 •40 

Black Bass Rods, 6 strip, 2 Tips :so 50 

Salmon Rods, estrlp, 2 Tips .,,.'... 50 80 

These rods are, in all their pai ts, WHOLLY MADE BY HAND. Positively no machinerr 
IB used in any part of their construction, tw SEND FOR CIRCULAR, We hare but ona 
ip-ade of these Rods— the best in the market. 




LAFLIN & RAND POWDER CO., 

26 MURRAY STREET, NEW YORK, 

MANUFA-OTTTRERS OF THI OELBBBATED BBANDS OF 

ORANGE LIGHTNING POWDER. 

Th« Strongest and Cleanest made. Noa. 1 fine to '. co irse, packed onlt ia sealed 1 lb. canisters. 

ORANGE DUCKING POWDER. 

For water-fowL Strong and clean. Nob. l fine to 6 coarse, packed in metal kegs of 63^ lbs. 

and canisters of 1 lb* 

ORANGE RIFLE POWDER. 

Tlie best for Rifles and for all ordinary pnrposes. Sizes F.g, FF.g, FFF.g, the last being the 
finest. Packed in wood and metal kegs of 25 lbs., 12>^ lbs., and 6K lbs., and in canisters of 1 lb. 
and K-lb. 

AJl of the above give high velocities, and less residnum than any other brands made. 



PAMPHLETS SHOWING SIZES OF GRAIN SENT FREE. 




The Creedmoor Watch Chain Charm. 

This Cut is the exact size, mounted in solid 14 karat gold, on 

pearl and white onyx. A very handsome ornament for sportsmen. 

Price of Pearl $3 each. 

Price of White Onyx $5 each. 

SENT ON RECEIPT OF PRICE. 

CHARLES A. FAAS & CO., 

Boom 6> 194 Broadway, New Tork. 

CHARLES L. RITZMANN, 

943 BROADWAY, above Twenty-second Street, New York. 

GUNS, 

Pistols, Fishing Tackle, 

SHOOTING ACCESSORIES AND 
SPORTING GOODS, 
of all kinds. 
Also, 

OPTICAL GOODS AND FINE 

POCKET CUTLERY. 

GUNS TAKEN IN EXCHANGE. 




Have always some Fine Second-hand 
Qnns cheap. Send 25c. for the completest 
catalogue published. 



LOisrG-ii^isrGE; 



Kill 





tootin 





A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE 

Intsmational Long-Range Matches. 

COMPLETE ELCHO SHIELD SCORES. 

EWMS Am ElSWMflOlS Of Til I. 1. A., its., m. 

FTJLLY ILHJSTR^VTEr>. 

BY THE 

Rifle Editor of the '' Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun." 



ipiE^iGE 25 a^,nsrTS. 



NEW YORK : 

THE FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

American News Company, Agents. 

1877. 



PRICES REDUCED TO SUIT THE TIMES. 



REMINGTONS' 

BREECH-LOADING 

Rl 



LONG RANGE—" Creedmoor "— As Used by the Rifle Teams. 



PBIOE- 



No. 1 — Pistol-grip stock, vernier and wind-gaiige sights, 34-in barrel, 10 lbs. welgbt. . . $100 00 
No. 2 — Sporting pistol-grip-pattern stock, vernier and wind-gauge sights, 34-iQch bar^ 

reljlOlbs weight.... : 75 00 

No. 3 — Military stock, vernier and wind-gauge sights, 34-inch barrel, 10 lbs. weight. . . 65 00 

Extra Same as Nb^ 1, except rubber butt and tip, and checked fore-end, including 

spirit-level and 2 ex. disc 125 00 

Superior Same as extra, except selected, curly, polished stock. . . ; 150 00 

MID-RANGE—" Wimbledon." 

44-77, 45-70 and 50-70. 28 in. 30 in. 

No. O..Sporting stock, ordinary peep and globe sights.. ; $39 00 $4100 

No. 1 ..Sporting stock, improved peep and globe sights 44 50 46 5n 

No. 2 .. Sporting pistoi-grip-pattern stock, impi3ved peep and globe sights 50 00 52 50 

No. 3 . . Sporting pistol-grip-pattern stock, imp. peep and wind-gauge sights 51 50 53 ou 

No. 4.. Sporting pistol-grip-pattern stock, vernier, peep and wind-gauge sights.. 60 60 62 50 

No. 5 . -Sporting pi tol-grip stock, vernier, peep and wind-gauge sights 64 on 66 00 

No. 6.. Sporting pistol-grip, fine stock, rubber butt and tip, checked fore-end, 

vernier, peep and wind-gauge sights... 75 09 77 00 

SHORT-RANGE--" DoUymonnt. " 

40-50, 40-70^ C. F.J, 44, 38 R. F. 26 in. 28 in. 

No. O.-Sportingstock, ordinary peep and'globe sights...- '..../.^.^ $37 00 $39 0« 

No. 1.. Sporting stock, improved peep and globe sights .*............ .^. 42 50 44 BO 

No. 2. .Sporting pistoi-grip-pattern stock, improved peep and globe sights., 50 00 52 00 

No. 3.. Pistol-grip stock, improved peep and globe sights ' .'64 00 55 50 

No. 4.. Pistol-grip stock, vernier, peep and wind-gauge sights ..............62 00 64 00 

SPORTING AND HUNTING. 

$30. $31. $32. $33. $34. 

26 inch. 28 inch. 30 inch- 32 iuch. 34 inch. 

SPORTING ]No. 2. 

24 inch, 22 calibre. 32 calibre. 38 calibre. 44 calibre $20 00 

26 " " " " 21 00 

28 " " " " '22 00 

30 «« " " " .....23 00 

DOUBLE-BARRELED, BREECH-LOADING SHOT GUNS. 

Weight— 30 in., 8^ lbs.; 28 In., 8j^ lbs.; Gauge 13. WBiGnT-30 In., 8»^ lbs.; 28 In., 8>^ lbs. 

Gauge 10. 

Plain walnut stock, decarbonized steel barrel $46 00 

Extra " " twlstbarrel 60 00 

" '* " laminated barrel, engraved lock plate and breech frame 75 00 

Extra pairs of barrels fitted to same breech $25 to 40 oo 

Doable gun, one barrel rifle, and one shot, decarbonized steel barrels. 66 00 



Forest & Stream 



AND 



ROD AND GUN. 



THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S JOURNAL. 



A WEEKIiir PAPKR I>ETOTi:i> TO 

Field Sports, Practical Natural History, Fish Culture, 

Protection of Game, Preservation of Forests, 

Yachting and Boating, Eifle Pmctice, 

— AND ALL — ^KL. 

OUT-DOOR RECREATIOUrS AND STUDY. . 



This is tlie only journal in the countiy tbat fully supplies the 
wants and necessities of the 

GENTLEMAN SPORTSMAN. 



TERMS, $4 a year. Send for a Specimen Copy. 



FOREST & STREAM PUBLISHING CO., 

Ill Fulton Street, 

NEW YORK 



American Bfews Go. Agents. 



FOR SALE BY ALL NEWS DEALERS. 



■ sPBifs imtw 



—AND— 



GENERAL GUIDE, 

WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 
89e Pages. Price,. $3.00. 

Tinted Paper, half bound Morocco, $5.00. Tinted Paper, Muslin, $4.00 




EDITOR OF 

*' FOREST AND STREAM;" Author of "THE FISHING 
TOURIST," " CAMP LIFE IN FLORIDA," &c. 

NEW YORK: 

FOREST & STREAM PUBLISHING CO. 

Sent by Mail post-paid on receipt of price. 



The book is a complete dictionary for sportsmen:— It gives every sportsmanlike method 
for capturing every known game animal, bird and fisli in North America — It desig- 
nates the proper cliargcs for guns for eacli kind of game, the various kinds of decoys and 

bl inds, and baits and tackle for the fish It gives over 4,000 localities where game and 

fish may be jfound, specifies the game found in each locality, the hotel accommodation, 
and the best route to get there. (The preparation of this Directory was in itself a work 
of great magnitude.). ...It gives the scientific name and specific characteristics of 
each species it describes, with the habitat and breeding season of each— a most valuable 

contribution to science It .describes 297 varieties of edible fish alone, that may be 

taken with ihehook; 50 varieties of ducks; 50 varieties of snipe or waders, and the 
diflorent methods of shooting each — Its instructions for capturing large game are 
very minute, and the chaptei's on woodcraft, outfitting and camping have t>een pro- 
nounced by "El Cazador,^' of Los Angeles, Cal., to be simply complete Every kind 

of dog used'lor sport is designated and his points for bench judgments fully given. 
The chapters relating to selection, breeding, rearing, breaking, cire and diseases com- 
prise a seventh part of the volume. There are 71 prescriptions and recipes given 
under the revision of the best modern canine therapeutists. ...It is in itself the most 
concise, accurate, in.structive, sensible and compreheriaive work ever written upon tlie 
dog and his diseases. Any person can administer^the prescriptions witli perfect 

confidence in their safety and efllclency Every scientific portion of the work has 

passed the inspection of an oflicer of tlie Smithsonian Institution It contains very 

useful recipes and remedies for wounds, bites, poisons, illness and emergencies of 
all kinds; for cleaning, repairing and preserving every implement used for sport; for 
selection and use of every kind of boat employed by sportsmen, and a directory where 
to buy outfitting goods. ...It instructs in Taxidermy, and tells how to preserve and 
mount specimens of animals, birds and fish. 



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